General on A Geek's Life

Roots

Tue, 03 Aug 2021 17:17:09 +0000

“Roots” 1943 by Frida Kahlo, for the Sunday Muse prompt 171:

** They say that fiery flames beget cold ash, the certainty of beliefs passed down petering out into the lukewarm ambivalence of doubt and questioning. These roots are the things that hold us still each tendril like a link tethering us to the ones who went before.

Why...

Tue, 15 Jun 2021 22:22:37 +0000

Dinty W. Moore quotes Joan Didon as saying:

I write to find out what I am thinking, what I’m looking at, what I see, and what it means.

All of which suggests a certain absence of certitude which only fades when the subject of doubt is engaged through the meandering paths and rabbit holes it leads us through and down.

This is what (I hope) this space will be for me, a place where the discordant notes of thoughts often coursing through my mind on faith, life, books and a fair few other things can be engaged, each assay like the blow of a chisel which though insignificant by itself, builds on the past and slowly carves out a thing of exquisite beauty.

'Big' Man coming, and finally getting my Abu Name

Fri, 05 Feb 2021 18:01:00 +0000

The bare, Spartan space just outside my window - which I can just see if I crane my neck a little just beyond its normal range - is just that, barely noticeable. At least it was until a few days ago when swivelling in my chair, the profusion of reds and yellows it has become caught my eye. So certain was I that the flowers were new that at an opportune moment, when I could pretend it was a casual question, I asked one of the guys to confirm. It turns out that I was right, the flowers had not always been there. The coming of a certain big man in a couple of days had prompted the ground staff into sprucing up our surroundings. I am thankful for the splash of colours which will remain with us for a bit at least, but what I came away with was the sense that big men everywhere carried weight. It is a truism, as an old teacher liked to say.

13. A Prayer For The Prodigal

Sat, 14 Nov 2020 04:31:00 +0000

Photo by Olesia Misty on Unsplash. For Day 13 of the November Poem-A-Day Challenge

You have carried yourself
into a far country
untethering yourself
from the strings
of domesticity
and caring and the hold
of warm soup bubbling
over the warm embers
of Mother’s hearth.

You have dragged
your portion of our things
over the misty mountains
into a strange place where
the voice of the Matriarch
is obscured by the cooing of the birds
and the singing of the sirens.

Champions!!!

Fri, 26 Jun 2020 07:00:48 +0000

At the end of the storm, there’s a golden sky… False starts and disappointments notwithstanding…

15. Baptism

Wed, 11 Mar 2020 16:38:00 +0000

Today’s CoE #LiveLent Devotional invites us to reflect on baptism, and how it is a symbol of our death and resurrection with Christ. Here goes:

\\\* I come to this water, let me go beneath its flood and die, and then arise reborn, raised to freedom and new desires. Let me sense your welcome, your voice speaking once but echoing across the hills and the valleys telling me, welcome lost son, my prodigal returned.

Thankful Thursday 47/2019

Thu, 21 Nov 2019 15:24:19 +0000

\\\*

Grateful for:

Friends and great conversations: Church finished a little early on Sunday, following which we were all encouraged to catch up with folk we hadn’t spoken to in a while. It was a delight to have a lengthy chat with U and O. Delighted
Good news on the job front, with significant progress towards getting a visa for my move to the Middle East. Thankful.

Thankful Thursdays - 46/2019

Thu, 14 Nov 2019 20:33:50 +0000

\\\*

Grateful for:

Opportunities to give back by giving a presentation at an AFBE school engagement session. It helped that there were friendly faces there, M included.
Catching up with old friends via lengthy phone calls during which it feels like we never stopped talking, everything running seamlessly into each other
Brunch at Bell D’Amico after several months away down south. Sunday brunch is becoming a thing!
Survived another week at work - waiting can be a pain!
Participated in a health challenge at work which shows my underlying numbers - blood pressure, cholesterol etc are in a good place. :)

31 Days of Journaling, Day 27: My Place

Tue, 27 Nov 2018 18:11:11 +0000

The folk at AoM identify eight factors which feed into an assessment of the suitability of where one is at the moment. Given Aberdeen and Byfleet are currently it for me, a table with the pros and cons of each location seemed like a logical place to start. Here goes:

[gdoc key=“https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1IZdb5os_AQNEjVBwEAscnsPzq2u2uqcj11jiaMktMBQ/edit?usp=sharing”]

31 Days of Journaling, Day 8: On Work, A Timeline

Thu, 08 Nov 2018 21:08:18 +0000

For Day 8 of the AoM 31 Day Journaling Challenge: Reflect on Your Career.

–

Work for me has focused on materials, particularly ferrous ones, and how they perform in a variety of oil and gas environments, on two continents; Africa of my birth and Europe where I have spent the last few years. My journey began in December of 2003 with being hired straight out of University in 2003 as a trainee engineer through progressing via a number of roles in various aspects of the corrosion and materials discipline and eventually leaving in October of 2008, thanks to a mixture of burn out and the opportunity to return to the university for graduate studies. Since graduating in July of 2009, I’ve gotten back into the Corrosion & Materials field first with a service provider and latterly with an oil & gas production company where I am Corrosion & Materials Technical Authority.

Ctrl +Alt+ Del

Tue, 30 Oct 2018 11:41:26 +0000

Maybe it is the shock of the delayed cognition of turning 39 - perilously close to the age of eternal foolishness - or the weariness of dealing on and off with death and grieving that births this feeling hovering over me that I can’t quite place. It is not entirely inscrutable: the little I understand of it suggests part of it is a heightened sense of my own fragility, the deaths - ranging from old classmates of mine to friends of my father’s - underscoring the fleeting nature of life and with it the sense of time speeding by. The other part that rears its head from the haze is the feeling of drifting, one day blurring into the next which is barely distinguishable from the one that follows it with the only discernible purpose being fighting whatever fire glows brightest both at work and in my personal life.

3 Day Quote Challenge - 3

Sun, 20 May 2018 22:13:54 +0000

The greatest enemy of hunger for God is not poison but apple pie. It is not the banquet of the wicked that dulls our appetite for heaven, but endless nibbling at the table of the world. It is not the X-rated video, but the prime-time dribble of triviality we drink in every night. For all the ill that Satan can do, when God describes what keeps us from the banquet table of his love, it is a piece of land, a yoke of oxen, and a wife (Luke 4:18–20).

3 Day Quote Challenge - 1

Fri, 18 May 2018 17:09:15 +0000

Mrs T, she of the keen mind and boundless energy, nominated me for the 3 day quote challenge, the key requirements being:

Thank the person who nominated you. (Thanks Mrs T).
Post a quote each day, for 3 consecutive days and say why it appeals to you.
Nominate 3 different bloggers each day! 🙂

PS. As I am no longer as personally connected to tons of bloggers as I used to be, I’ve opted to fulfil items 1 & 2 only.

#4 - Variations...

Thu, 25 Jan 2018 18:29:16 +0000

Hanging out with iron man, a few years ago in Manchester and then most recently in Marrakech.

For the prompt, Variations On A Theme.

Wordpress Photo Challenge: Peek

Fri, 03 Nov 2017 12:48:39 +0000

The view that meets my eye on day 1 of 10 in Paphos, Cyprus. Truly looking forward to chilling and bonding with S, and catching my breath after what has been two weeks lived on the very edge of sanity (A Nigerian Wedding will do that to you).

--- For the Wordpress photo challenge, Peek.

Being Prodigal — An Origin Story of Sorts

Sun, 06 Aug 2017 12:12:00 +0000

Image: Rembrandt, The Return of the Prodigal Son (Source)–

I trace the beginnings of my faith journey to Easter of 1992, the enduring image of the day being standing alongside forty or so other people at the front of the bare, minimally decorated assembly hall of the College of Education Ekiadolor. I was there because I had been dragged there by my family; there being an Easter conference put on by the student Christian movement my parents spent a lot of their spare time supporting. Besides my irritation at being taken along — and thus losing the few days of freedom free from parental supervision — responding to the altar call along with the others whilst sobbing profusely is the only thing I remember from the events of the weekend. That would not be the last time I would respond to an altar call — or pray a similar prayer for that matter — but the sense of relief, joy and confidence about the future which followed that day is why I come back to that place as the definitive start of my spiritual journey, never mind the fact that it lasted for all of three weeks before the reality of life brought me down to earth. That personal connection was the final piece of the jigsaw that created a church bubble for me.

#10: The Deep Learning AI Conundrum

Thu, 13 Apr 2017 18:37:40 +0000

Will Knight highlights the conundrum at the heart of deep learning AI - demonstrably good decisions, the inner workings of which are invisible to us. Fate?

The Road Taken

Wed, 01 Mar 2017 21:02:53 +0000

Me, Benin City and an intense desire for fried chicken was how I ended up here; walking along Airport Road looking for a Chicken Republic. Having spotted it from the window of the speeding cab ferrying me from Ring Road to the neither-here-nor-there hotel I planned on sleeping over at on Ihama Road, I grossly underestimated the distance. That only became apparent once my cravings had gotten the better of me and I was back on the road, in the sweltering heat, plodding along whilst wondering what had gotten into my head.

Loved Things, A Brain Dump of Sorts

Thu, 02 Feb 2017 06:31:43 +0000

Chilli flavoured plantain chips
Peri-peri chicken (having a cheeky Nandos is a thing, you know)
The scent of warm waffles
Friday nights (the prelude to the only truly quiet times I have)
Catch up TV (for how easy it makes indulging my fascination with Leroy Jethro Gibbs)
Postcards (sending and receiving them)
Running into old friends in the most unlikely of places.
When a shuffled playlist throws up a particularly apt song
Early morning runs by the beach
Scoring a late (winning) goal in Football Manager

Wandering, Wondering, Pondering

Tue, 31 Jan 2017 08:09:58 +0000

A damp squib of a day is perhaps as good as any to wrap up January, given how off script the weather has been. It used to be that loads of snow and travel disruptions were par for the course for this time of the year; neither happened. Even the threat of thunder snow - cold air from Canada invading our own Northern skies - failed to materialise, a few inches of snow and gale force winds being the worst of the lot.

22. (Not) Crying Wolf

Wed, 25 Jan 2017 17:34:14 +0000

Source

There is a lot I enjoy about my work, not least being a purveyor of the somewhat esoteric knowledge of materials and how they perform in a variety of service environments.

Most of the time I am advising, providing insights into what types of degradation can occur, how likely it is to progress and what actions we should be taking to assure ourselves of the future integrity of the kit we look after.

21. Routine

Tue, 24 Jan 2017 11:55:17 +0000

Two mornings during a typical work week, I make a pit stop at the Starbucks in Union Square.

Over the course of the last year, it has become apparent that quite a few people have a similar routine. I now recognise — and share the odd nod with — an older gentleman who usually arrives at the same time I do and unfailingly buys an espresso machiato which he proceeds to nurse for all of thirty minutes before shooting off to what I assume must be work.

20. On Repeat — You Are My Life

Mon, 23 Jan 2017 19:23:19 +0000

[embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1L6rkCmvP_o[/embed]

19. Waiting

Sat, 21 Jan 2017 08:12:55 +0000

… For the flight to Manchester that will leads to a train to Sheffield and then a weekend of meeting S.’s folk….

Then the Wait, actively I suppose, for time and life to work its magic and meld these two journeys — separate, distinct but converging — into a coherent whole…

#Hopeful

18. Bubbles

Fri, 20 Jan 2017 08:27:00 +0000

Source: Wallpaper.com

I come upon them suddenly as I emerge from the arch on Peacock’s Close onto the parking lot. I have my headphones in as always, humming under my breath as I drag myself home, the combination of the low light , my tiredness and that they have their backs to the road being the reasons why we startle each other.

What becomes obvious when I eventually take in the scene is that they — a woman and a girl I can only assume are mother and child — have been taking turns at blowing bubbles and squealing in delight as the light wind drives them away towards the road.

17. Anticlimax

Thu, 19 Jan 2017 17:34:52 +0000

The promised snowcaplyse never quite materialised. At its worst in my corner of the world, it deposited a layer of snow all around, the result of the intermittent dribbles of snow and gale force winds. The effect of that, and the small rise in temperatures followed by a freeze which thawed the snow for a bit, was to leave slippery layers of black ice on the pavements; treacherous for us runners and brisk walkers. A friend did fare slightly worse, the small matter of a fortuitous gap between her car and the one in front of her being the difference between safety and a minor crash when she skidded on a patch of black ice.

16. The Crux of The Matter

Wed, 18 Jan 2017 17:33:06 +0000

Love God. Love People. The End

15. Finding My Rhythm

Tue, 17 Jan 2017 17:59:02 +0000

Beach Boulevard, Aberdeen, 2016

One of the things I’m looking to achieve this year is to run a 10k race, which is why three to four times a week I grab my gear and hit the road. I use the MapMyRun app which paces me during the week from a leisurely 2k easy run on a Tuesday to a longer (now 5k+) run on the following Sunday.

As my run times improve and the distances lengthen, what I realise is that my natural predilection for just hitting go and running works fine for speed but works against my distance, as I am often far too winded to post a useful time once that initial burst of energy has fizzled out.

14. On Repeat — Fighting For You

Mon, 16 Jan 2017 17:45:36 +0000

[embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vx-aJrd-gmo[/embed]

Start walking with your head held high
The future is bright, Heaven’s gates are open wide.
Every trouble that you ever walk through
Peace, my child, I am, I am fighting for you

Lyrics from the Tenth Avenue North Song ‘ Fighting For You’, from the 2016 album Followers. Apt, for a returning Prodigal of sorts…

13. Caught Up

Sun, 15 Jan 2017 15:34:49 +0000

A pop up on LinkedIn is how my memory of him gets reawakened. He, O, is an old friend whom I haven’t spoken to in a very long time, far longer than I care to admit.

It is with some trepidation I send a request to connect and a message. That gets accepted, following which we exchange a few messages, ending with obtaining his phone number.

A forty five minute conversation on the phone today reminds me of all what I have missed from that friendship. All things being equal we plan to catch up properly when next I am in London, wives, kids and all…

12. Snowcalypse

Sat, 14 Jan 2017 01:24:51 +0000

11. Incoming

Thu, 12 Jan 2017 20:22:00 +0000

Gale force winds, thunder and snow from Canada, a reminder to be thankful for the relatively mild winter we have had so far.

Given we had had quite a few days where we were warmer than London, I suppose a correction was always on the cards…

10. How To Be Human

Wed, 11 Jan 2017 20:28:37 +0000

Source: Crosswalk

Reach for the distant
Stars. Fall, but rise up again
Hoping is Human.

09. Epic Fail

Tue, 10 Jan 2017 20:14:15 +0000

Uneven shelf — BUT functional

The plan — if stopping at the B&M across town and picking up two wall mounted shelves and a spirit level with no inkling of what to do with either counts as one — was to spend the evening measuring, marking, drilling and putting up two shelves. The objective was to provide storage for books, a journal and my phone in a location accessible from my bed. I was certain it would be an absolute doodle, given my decent score in woodwork in my secondary school days, and my machine shop expertise during my undergrad.

08. Returning

Mon, 09 Jan 2017 18:41:02 +0000

The quietness of
Old haunts, to which one returns.
Wash, Rinse, Repeat. Life

07. Of Sons and Prodigals

Sun, 08 Jan 2017 18:03:22 +0000

Amidst the rolling, changing landscape that is my recollection of growing up, two things remain as immutable constants; the university communities I spent most of my growing years till turning seventeen and churches— searching, attending, serving in, and leaving them.

In my first memories of church, my father and I are in Benin City, at the Air Force officers christian fellowship. The University Chapel in the next town, Ekpoma, becomes church for the five or so years following our relocation; the desire being to bring both sides of the family together for good. The trigger for a change of state is, in my memory, an acrimonious debate about what direction to take the chapel in, one which leads to us joining up with a fledgling pentecostal startup in a city further north, eventually leading to us being foundation members of a branch of that church, when it rolls into our corner of the world.

06. Chilled

Sat, 07 Jan 2017 21:31:40 +0000

The Joy of slow days
Only broken by the need
To stretch my feet. Bliss

05. Lessons Learned

Fri, 06 Jan 2017 21:48:00 +0000

Image Source

A year ago if you asked me how well I enjoyed my own company, on a scale of 1 to 10 I would place myself somewhere between 9 and 9.5, the 0.5 my attempt at modesty. Pressed for evidence, I would point to the various things I did alone without so much as a flutter of an eyelid — Football Manager, a substantial list of feeds subscribed to in my Feedly, a number of series I watch obsessively and any number of books I have my nose in from time to time.

04. A Requiem for the Unseen

Thu, 05 Jan 2017 17:47:33 +0000

For the bank on the corner of King’s and Union which I pass everyday, only stopping to use its ATM on the odd occasion I need cash which has been closed for over a month. A closure I only noticed today because I needed cash.

Unseen.

03. On Writing and Life

Wed, 04 Jan 2017 19:47:08 +0000

The final days of the holidays- I am back at work on Friday — seem like a good time to put a dent in my reading plans for the year, which is how I finally get round to reading Ghana Must Go, an airport impulse buy whilst waiting to board a flight last summer.

A few pages in, I find myself wondering what the fuss about the book many years ago was about, steeling myself for a long, hard slog. By the time I am midway, I find myself pleasantly surprised by the pace and the sense of recognition its themes engender in me — grief, loss, growing up in an African home and the immigrant experience, being the chief ones.

02. On Insides and Outsides

Tue, 03 Jan 2017 12:02:52 +0000

Image Source

In keeping with one of my resolves this year to make a regular practice of prayer and bible reading a habit this year, I read the second chapter of Mark yesterday. In Mark’s account, Jesus forgives (and then heals) a paralysed man, calls and hangs out with Levi, a noted sinner and allows his disciples skip fasting, as well as pluck grain for nibbling on on the Sabbath. This leaves the establishment figures in a fit, their concern being that outward expressions of the law are being flouted by Jesus and his disciples.

01. On Resolutions

Mon, 02 Jan 2017 07:48:04 +0000

Image Source

As has been the case with every year since I can remember, I rang the new year in at church, taking the opportunity to reflect on 2016 and my plans for 2017 as the year turned.

As part of preparing for that, I took time out to reflect on where I was on achieving the wider goals that underpin the seven focus areas I have identified as part of my Life Plan. It is fair to say that it makes for gory reading, the details of which I’ll have to spare you. The cliff notes version is that, like everyone else, there are a few areas where I am pretty much where I want to be (Causes & Charity, Work & Career), a few where I have put in a decent shift (Financial, Physical & Health, People and Social) and a couple where I’ve gone backwards since the end of 2015 (Spiritual, Personal & Mental Development).

About Town: Tech, Taxis and Traipsing About The Tate

Thu, 17 Nov 2016 22:53:26 +0000

A first taxi ride since July, occasioned by an urgent need to head out into the wider ‘Shire for work, is how I end up in slowly moving traffic on Guild Street one Tuesday morning. As we inch along towards the first set of traffic lights, the announcer on the radio points out what is bleeding obvious to us - that there are long tail backs on our favoured route. The taxi driver, fingers tapping on the steering wheel in that understatedly impatient way the young and restless have, gives things a few minutes before he fires up his TomTom device to assess what our routing options are. It turns out the longer route is the better one on this occasion - his device predicting that it is the quicker one by ten minutes. Being stuck with him, I shrug when he asks if I mind his taking the route. I don’t suppose I have a lot of choice, besides hopping out of his taxi and legging it, or calling off my trip entirely. Once we are out of the snarling traffic and heading out towrds my destination, the incessant tapping stops, all his nervous energy perhaps being dissipated by the manoveuring he has had to do to get us out of our spot of bother.

Always Returning

Tue, 25 Oct 2016 16:56:51 +0000

Reminded of this by Caitlin Kelly’s piece which in turn was inspired by Imbolo Mbue’s NY Times Essay - How To Vote As An Immigrant and a Citizen

The Diary: There or Thereabouts..

Sat, 22 Oct 2016 13:23:07 +0000

If you had asked me how my week was going at mid day on Tuesday, I suppose my answer would have been ’ shittier by the second’ or something similar. At the time I was running on a significant sleep deficit, had worn myself out by overthinking and consequently was just about tottering on the edge of imploding. The chief reasons for this state were a first spat with S, and a big work related meeting for which my preparations were going poorly. I did manage to survive till the end of the day, common sense -aided by a snickers bar - beginning to seep to the surface, adding some perspective.

Of Spats, and Lessons Learned

Tue, 18 Oct 2016 16:50:33 +0000

---

God has a sense of humour, that much I am convinced of. The most recent evidence of this has got to be firing up John Piper’s Daily Devotional, Solid Joys, to find out that today’s devotional had marriage firmly in its sights.

The humour was because S and I had just had our first spat of sorts the night before. At the nexus of this spat was a difference in opinion as to where we were on the relationship continuum. I was of the opinion that she needed to provide a response that defined what we were - being just really good friends or people in an active relationship that had marriage as it’s end goal. Her contention was that the fact that she gave up time and energy to meet up with me and do stuff suggested that there was firm interest on her part, but that time was required to get to a place where she could formally say ‘Yes’ to my entreaties.

#97 - In Conversation

Fri, 08 Apr 2016 18:49:51 +0000

On my return to my favourite eating-out place for the first time in just over a month, I find I am served by a face I don’t recognise. The accent is also one I can’t place which is why after I place my order, my curiosity gets the better of me. It turns out he’s from New Zealand - he describes his accent as having the Australian twang and the South African heft.

#WakingUp

Wed, 06 Apr 2016 20:06:27 +0000

Quick plug for the3six5NG which returns on the 1st of June…

#94 - Thuli Zuma - Things

Tue, 05 Apr 2016 19:24:37 +0000

–

Trust yourself if you can…

HT - Kovie Parker

#90 - Persevering..

Fri, 01 Apr 2016 21:33:28 +0000

We saw Eddie the Eagle today - after much planning, to-ing and fro-ing as has become the norm with us - as did a couple of people I know from work and church.. Cue a few awkward silences and dodgy moments where I wondered how much information to share as part of the customary introductions, given one of the work guys is the head honcho and this fluid undefined phase we are in…

#88 - Happy Place

Wed, 30 Mar 2016 22:17:34 +0000

Over-priced perhaps but this is very quickly becoming my Happy Place where I pause briefly before heading into the bedlam of work…

#SteadyHabits

#83 - Untitled

Fri, 25 Mar 2016 18:10:07 +0000

Harrow bound…. The view whilst I wait

#ConversationsWithMyself

#80 - Suprised, Not

Tue, 22 Mar 2016 21:24:37 +0000

My attempt to surprise M , ruined by my reflection in the lift mirror.. Sigh…

#79 - Complicated...

Mon, 21 Mar 2016 18:02:08 +0000

By the paradox of choice…And the apparent surfeit of options, on the surface at least.. Looking closer though, what is not immediately obvious is that a lot of the things which seem like better options, greener grass, are a mere distraction. :(

#CrossRoads

#75- Waiting

Thu, 17 Mar 2016 15:03:58 +0000

#73 - Worn

Tue, 15 Mar 2016 23:45:12 +0000

Worn.. Is how I feel following an 8 hour grilling by the regulator… I could use winning the lottery after all…

In Conversation...

Sun, 13 Mar 2016 13:59:24 +0000

Quick plug for my radio debut, in conversation with @1Life_Saved and @HibbardSam about his new-ish single “In The Waiting” and God, Music and doing life (amongst other things)..

Show goes out at 2000hrs GMT today (13/03). Listen in on TuneIn or via our Online Radio Player. You can also browse our archives here.

#Debut

#65 - Dear Future Me

Mon, 07 Mar 2016 17:33:10 +0000

For seasons of uncertainty

The Perfect Year in Twelve Things

Tue, 01 Mar 2016 04:41:07 +0000

The Big Rocks

Grow in Grace and Godliness; as evidenced by beating a number of bad habits, and living a life of contemplative prayer and worship.
Find, woo and marry the woman of my dreams;
Deliver at work in quantity and quality; confirmation and a promotion to Senior Engineer
Shed the flab, get back down to <80kg

2016 Objectives

Develop a steady practice of (contemplative) prayer and bible study(Target >75% of days)
Reduce year ending spending versus 2015 (Target 15% reduction)
Write more (Target average 1 post a week, write for >30 consecutive days)
Migrate diet over to an LCHF/ Whole30 model (30 consecutive days)
Journal more (Target three times a week)
Read for 2 hours every day (Target – 13 books for FY2016)
Fast once a week till 4pm (Target 40 completions)
Start the day with a litre of water (Target >75% of days)
Reduce social media usage (Target complete >30 consecutive days)
Check in with someone in my life for 30 days
Write a thankful post for 30 days

More here

#56- The View

Sat, 27 Feb 2016 23:18:54 +0000

Blue vans mean business, apparently…

#53 - Melt Down

Wed, 24 Feb 2016 21:03:16 +0000

Between my low carb diet, pressure at work and precious little sleep (I’ve averaged between 4 and 5 hours over the last two weeks), it felt like i’d hit rock bottom today; so much so I went to the African shop, ordered up a big loaf of bread and Nido milk, which those who know me well know is my absolute special brand of poison. That, and ending up in front of my TV watching re-runs of How I Met Your Mother, appeared to make the world sane and simple again…

#49 - Turn Up

Sat, 20 Feb 2016 23:15:15 +0000

Dinner table…

#48 - Notes to Revellers

Fri, 19 Feb 2016 23:30:40 +0000

A sign which used to be posted in the window of the pub on the corner of Exchequer Row and Union. All that has been stripped and is being turned into luxury apartments.

#FridayNightThrowBacks

#47 - Ambling

Thu, 18 Feb 2016 22:20:03 +0000

When I first began to take time out during my lunch breaks to walk about, there was nothing intentional about it - as far as I can remember. It was one of those things which - having happened a few times - felt so good it became self-catalysing, etching itself into my daily routine; becoming as integral a habit as could be. In looking back at my step logs – I am one of those people who wears a wrist band for tracking steps, the Fitbit Charge HR in black being my very own brand of poison in that regard - it appeared to coincide broadly with an office move at work, one which brought with it its own issues. I claim no causal linkages here, I must quickly add.

#44 - Finally Snow

Mon, 15 Feb 2016 21:26:57 +0000

I suspect it was more a question of when - rather than if, given the extended run of near zero weather we had had for pretty much all of last week – we would have the snow come down. When we did, we woke up to a blanket of snow everywhere on Sunday morning, and then again on Monday. That managed to add 15 minutes to my Sunday morning commute – for all the scrapping and cleaning that my car required – and made me break out a proper winter coat for the first time this year.

#42 - Analysis Paralysis

Sat, 13 Feb 2016 21:35:25 +0000

This xkcd comic just about sums it up for us miserable, over analytical types. For an explanation of the game theory/ prisoner’s dilemma behind the comic, visit explain xkcd.

#41 - About Town - Icy Underfoot

Fri, 12 Feb 2016 23:22:01 +0000

A prolonged stretch of sub -five degree weather has finally left its mark on the pavements, the light sprinkling of rain overnight freezing into a thin layer of ice which makes for treacherous walking conditions. Walking to work at a little past 7.00am this morning, it is slightly reassuring to see I am not the only one bothered by the icy conditions; on the corner of Justice Street and East North Street, I share a smile with a woman in a big red coat who appears to be in at least as much difficulty as I am, only she has several bags to balance in addition with managing to not slip. The bond of shared difficulty I suppose?

#40 - Hoarding

Thu, 11 Feb 2016 21:07:37 +0000

A pit stop at my local grocery shop at which I find coconut water is on sale - cheaper by £1.47…. Forgive me if I went overboard

#Hoarding

#33 - Thursday Evening Shenanigans

Thu, 04 Feb 2016 22:10:41 +0000

An Indian, a Weegie and a Nigerian walk into a Spanish tapas place *insert whatever joke you deem fit*.. More seriously though it is a fitting end to what has been a hectic week, hanging out with G and D from work @La Tasca; gin and tonics and red wine lubricating our throats all evening long.

#Work #Bants

#32- Hanging with Bruce

Wed, 03 Feb 2016 20:52:24 +0000

A commemorative statue for Robert the Bruce

#30 - North Esplanade West, Again

Mon, 01 Feb 2016 22:08:45 +0000

North Esplanade West, Again

#25 - Out and About

Wed, 27 Jan 2016 21:21:59 +0000

Park Street, 6.20am.. A damp squib of a day!

#18 - About Town

Wed, 20 Jan 2016 21:42:57 +0000

Lunchtime, out for a long amble down Market street and up North Esplanade West beside the River Dee…

#Tranquill

#14- Calm

Sun, 17 Jan 2016 09:19:16 +0000

The difference the (absence of the) wind makes. Still freezing though

#Paused

#11 - Pub Wisdom

Wed, 13 Jan 2016 22:31:51 +0000

Good things come to those who wait… For a cold, sweaty Guinness, amongst other things.

#Malones #Aberdeen

Letter from St John's - The wrap

Sat, 03 Oct 2015 11:30:31 +0000

The view from 26F as we descended towards St John’s International was great, not particularly dissimilar to what one might see at a similar stage of the journey towards Aberdeen, the West Coast of Scotland or Ireland; which must now be a travel objective for me over the next few years.

Once safely parked and disembarked - to 19°C weather - my first impressions of the airport were of how hastily put together it all seemed, with construction continuing in various parts. That lent a rustic, uncomplicated - perhaps even idyllic - air to everything, the sort of chilled, back water one might go to escape the lures of technology. Before travelling I had searched extensively for a duty free shop at YYT, walking the short distance to the arrivals terminal made the reasons for my futile googling apparent.

Why We Love, Why We Cheat

Sun, 19 Apr 2015 14:08:58 +0000

http://www.ted.com/talks/helen_fisher_tells_us_why_we_love_cheat?language=en

On the biology of love (amongst a ton of other fascinating stuff), and the three brain systems that evolve from our human experience of mating and reproduction - lust, romantic love and (long term) attachment.

Light of Christmas - Owl City (feat TobyMac)

Thu, 25 Dec 2014 09:24:23 +0000

&safe=active

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year

About Town: 172,800 seconds of summer...

Tue, 15 Jul 2014 22:34:53 +0000

If you accept the recurrent narrative - regurgitated without so much as a bated eyelid by everyone from office mates to cab drivers - summer out here lasts a mere 172,800 seconds; two days. Making my way home, by way of the ASDA superstore, it is not hard to accept that as fact, given there are scores of people milling about, or seated in the outdoor stalls the pubs on Castlegate - most notably Black Friars, Carltons and Sinatras - have managed to set up. The two recurring decimals are pints of golden brew and bare arms of all shapes and colours; the sun deigned to shine in all its glory today, and we its doting worshippers have come out to play.

Intermissions....

Sun, 01 Jun 2014 16:06:21 +0000

Time and time again one finds himself back here, searching for what, one knows not. Between life, work and the issues inherent in them, my big resolve to do life in 30 day chunks limped along before dying in March. What little time to breathe I had was spent swotting for a couple of exams, critical components of the personal development plan for the year.

Coming into June, I thought the Better Man in 30 days challenge from the Art of Manliness represented a good, meaty challenge to get my teeth into, a potential keystone habit if you like. For one, manliness and man-making represent a key strand that runs through and undergirds the Life Plan. In addition, blogging for an entire month was also one of the ideas for a thirty day challenge at the beginning of the year. Thanks to the two twitter BFFs - OluSimeon and SingleNigerian, any doubts I might have had about going through with the plan have been nuked thanks to public accountability.

The Year In Reading 2013

Tue, 31 Dec 2013 06:32:26 +0000

And the Mountains Echoed - Khaled Hosseini
The Sound of Things Falling - Juan Gabriel Vasquez
Fine Boys - Eghosa Imasuen
The One: A Realistic Guide to Choosing Your Soul Mate - Ben Young & Sam Adams
Jesus, My Father, The CIA and Me: A Memoir of sorts - Ian Morgan Cron
Networking for people who hate networking - Devora Zack.
The Practice of the Presence of God - Brother Lawrence
Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a world that can’t stop talking - Susan Cain
The God of Small Things - Arundhati Roy

Point of Inflection

Wed, 17 Jul 2013 23:31:02 +0000

In differential calculus:

the point on a curve where the curvature changes sign from +ve to -ve or vice versa; analogous to a point on a bend where the steering is momentarily straight whilst turning from left to right or vice versa

In real life:

the precise moment it finally sinks into a bloke’s thick skull that the girl he’s had a crush on for the past month is about to ease him into the friendzone

About Town

Tue, 02 Jul 2013 20:19:32 +0000

The bright warm sunshine that streamed in through the office windows – whilst I was hard at work on Friday afternoon - vanished in time for the weekend, true to form. Up here in my little corner of the world, the one gripe that we all - rich, poor, cab driver, CEO, native born or immigrant - share, is the weather and its propensity to turning on a whim at the most inopportune of moments.

Cheat Day...

Fri, 31 May 2013 21:01:34 +0000

An egg, two sausages, a slice of bacon and a hash brown.. All on a roll.. #Delish

First World Problems

Mon, 20 May 2013 19:36:10 +0000

Thirty odd people, myself included, cluster around a table in a somewhat private corner of the Monkey House. Once a quarter, the guys and girls from work all pile in here to de-stress, and let our hair down. Rumour has it that after enough beers have gone around, fortuitous slips centred around what certain bosses actually think about certain staff have been known to occur. Usually, the evening starts with a few beers and nibbles - fish fingers, spring rolls, and all the other light food we’d collectively call small chops in my other world, the small matter of a few thousand miles away.

West End Conversations

Fri, 17 May 2013 16:20:43 +0000

She taps me on the shoulder, seemingly after several attempts to get my attention. In my defence, I have my earphones plugged in, cranked up to the maximum as usual, and have my hands in my fully done up jacket, braced up for the nip in the air, a far cry from the fairly balmy weather we’d had for all of three days that week.

I am waiting for the Number 5 bus from Seafield Shops to Union Street, at a little before 20 minutes to 5pm, and besides the slowly lengthening line of cars on the opposite side of the road queuing up to get off Seafield on to Springfield road, there is an uncertain quietness to everything. At the time she tapped my shoulder, the only thing on my mind besides the cold was clearing my head of PRENs, Carbon equivalents, hydrogen embrittlement and all the other buzz words my ears had been filled up with at the training course I was on.

About town - Bunnies, Movies and perfecting the art of vanishing

Tue, 07 May 2013 18:00:12 +0000

In retrospect, it was the best weekend to have been away from work - but I didn’t know that three weeks ago when on a whim I decided I needed an extended break. It just so happened that Thursday morning, which was my last work day of the week, brought with it the slight irritation of an unwelcome work event that needed a response. That event ended up spawning a response that had burgeoned into a full-fledged emergency of sorts - complete with the mindless, headless running around centred on being visible and being seen to be doing stuff, however pointless - by midmorning on Friday, by which time I was sauntering casually down Links Road, up the beach Esplanade and then unto the Boulevard with the sun on my back, tempered by a cool breeze from the sea and the barely perceptible sound of the waves lapping the shoreline, the sound track to what was a very leisurely stroll.

The darned friend zone...

Mon, 01 Apr 2013 23:43:47 +0000

To all accounts, she could have been the right woman, at the right time, in the right place on the relationship continuum, but for the small matter of 3,000 miles making navigating the treacherous waters of getting to know her essentially from scratch that bit more difficult. We did have great conversations (maybe not great, but better than I have with most) with a range of shared interests that we explored.

About Town - London Balling

Wed, 13 Feb 2013 23:02:53 +0000

The little kid - he’s barely eleven months - plods after his mother, hanging onto her left leg, and bawling. She has her hair swept back, hidden by the folds of the scarf she has around her head, is bedecked in baggy pants and has that forlorn, tired look only the hassle of splitting her attention between steaming pots of rice, partly boiled chicken and her 11 month old bundle of energy can cause.

London calling...

Tue, 15 Jan 2013 04:22:47 +0000

London calls… Having manfully beaten its lure over the holidays to enable a much needed season of introspection, I had to cave in to summons over the phone from my Uncle C, especially because he and el madre seemed to be in cahoots on this one.

Ostensibly, the reason for the summons are my lack of endeavour in the girl stakes. My strategy has been to keep them in the dark on the details of my love life/ non-love life. Somehow Uncle C convinced Mum that our corner of the world up in Scotland is a hell hole of sorts with next to zero prospects of meeting eligible women, hence the need to get me out there in London.

About Town: The Recapping Christmas Edition

Mon, 07 Jan 2013 11:00:35 +0000

And so I survived my first Aberdeen Christmas in a long while. It was with more than a little trepidation that I faced the end of the year; the niggling thought at the back of my mind initiated by the sudden realisation that my policy of disengaging from the myriad friendzoneships I was mired in had left me with no real excuse to make what had become fairly regular trips across the pond. Newcastle and London, as always, were temptingly good options - Newcastle because of the old school mates still down there, and London for the promise of piping hot moi-moi and the chance of a first face to face in near on two years with my super wing-woman K. Given my memories of my one and only Aberdeen Christmas to date - bucket loads of snow, lugging suitcases on to and off trains as I made the move up North, and missing a rendezvous with the only guy I knew in town at the time - I suppose my fears were justified if not entirely expected.

Between Two Worlds...

Tue, 01 Jan 2013 17:21:15 +0000

It will have been five years this year since I made the decision to up sticks, pack in the life I had lived up till that time and head out in the great unknown that was grad school, and what it would ultimately lead to a hiatus from Nigeria.

On paper I had a good life. A job that left me squarely ensconced in the safe, settledness of middle class Nigerian life, the prospect of a final salary pension with the option of cashing out at age 45 if I so wished, and the almost cast iron guarantee of an average 20% pay rise every two years thanks to an aggressive union.

About Town: The Essential Guide to (Aberdonian) Cab Conversations

Mon, 12 Nov 2012 15:00:52 +0000

There are only so many taxi rides that you can take before you begin to pick up on the subtleties of maintaining inane conversations. And if your default mode of transport is a taxi, you have no choice but to cultivate the art, unless awkward silence is your forte. Here then in no specific order are the non threatening things that keep coming up for me in my journeys in the Aberdeen area.

Stumbled on...

Mon, 22 Oct 2012 19:31:11 +0000

Spent the weekend migrating my emails and documents between computers and stumbled on this email exchange, which I was cc’ed on, from my days on the fringes of the student association during my MSc a few years ago.. Our (Nigerian) verbosity is almost certainly genetic, I think! Enjoy!

Dear Comrades,

Having perused and assimilated the content of this mail, I awaited intelligent responses from the house on this germaine issue that has precipitated. Fortunately it seems the house finds this subject too mundane, trivial and bereft of credibility, with contents premised on lack of tact and knowledge of due process in electorial affairs. However in the spirit of comradeship,I have taken it upon my humble self to initiate this thread which I hope will serve to enlighten our Exco on how these state affairs are conducted for a laudable house as ours.

On My Return to the Middle of Nowhere

Mon, 08 Oct 2012 16:00:39 +0000


[Source]

I seem to have the knack for choosing the shittiest days to go offshore. Last November I end up stuck for an extra three days, thanks to Ambisagrus going berserk and my helicopter flight getting cancelled. Speaking to the heli-admin late on Monday as I confirm my booking, I have her take a quick look at the weather forecast; she confirms there are no extraordinary weather events forecast for the rest of the week. Satisfied, I confirm my check-in time and head out to pack my bags and plan.

About Town: Slivers of summer, art in the 'Deen and stumbling on my first Tartan Parade

Mon, 30 Jul 2012 20:45:39 +0000

The sun is out, belatedly, and in its weakly warm, barely there, almost autumnal pall I feel a small sense of relief that summer has not passed us by in its entirety out here in our little wind swept corner of the world. Not since the back end of May have we had weather remotely resembling summer; and with this tiny sliver of sunshine comes the urge to go out and do something. Thankfully Union Square with all its delights - and sun bathed open spaces - is only a brisk ten minute walk away from work, so I make a few phone calls and get my two friends from across town to agree to a meetup to catchup over lunch. We end up - and there must be no prizes for guessing here - at Nandos and we order our now standard fare, a platter of peri-peri chicken and a variety of sides to share. I go for a mixed leaf salad - between Sister #1 and the Irish drinkard, calorie counting has become my new obsession. My buddies, not shackled by the need to rein in bulging waistlines - both go for other less healthy options; OOO going for two sides of rice and Og going for a large serving of peri-peri salted chips. Between placing my initial order, and getting my loyalty card swiped, it turns out my last but one visit has entitled me to an extra half serving of chicken, which I add to my current order. All told we end up binging on a chicken and a half in the hour we spend there. Fully fed, with sagging guts and brains groaning at the small matter of another four hours of work, we down our coffees and leave to start heading back up to work. Having safely dispatched them to their cars, I settle in on one of the benches in front of the Union Square building to catch another half hour of sunshine before heading back to work.

3. Journey's end, red tape and finally a breather

Sat, 30 Jun 2012 16:45:17 +0000


Deserted... The House on the corner of 3rd and 12th.

The sun had began to lose some of its unblinking menace by the time my overloaded bus laboured up the final incline and began its descent into Ekpoma. Although we had made steady progress on the Lagos to Benin leg, navigating the maze of the Uselu - Lagos road and finding my way to the Big Joe motor park across town had taken a while and it was well past four pm before I found my not particularly comfortable seat on a bus to Ekpoma.

[0,0,0,0] - Reset

Wed, 20 Jun 2012 20:37:46 +0000

Back, knackered but thankful… To big resets, (almost) clean slates and ninth lives….

Reluctant conversations...

Sat, 14 Jan 2012 18:40:16 +0000

The flight into London was uneventful, the only thing breaking my ear-phones-plugged-in-music-playing routine being an exceptionally friendly gentleman and his wife who I had the misfortune of sitting next to, on one of three adjoining seats. After tossing my knapsack into the overhead locker, I motion for them to make some space for me. He smiles, far too easily and obliges me, as I slither into the seat, somehow managing to do it without entangling my ear phone wires on the various odds and ends he has left on the seat. He is dressed simply; a North Face jacket from which a bland, grey shirt peeks through a half done zipper. I can’t help but notice that the woman on the other hand is much better dressed, the highlight being an eye catching, flowery, brown dress that stops well shy of her knees as she sits, and a full mane of blonde hair. I settle in, toss a mirthless, slit lip grin in their direction and proceed to detangle my ear phone wires.

About Town: Westward...

Wed, 04 Jan 2012 10:48:06 +0000

On the morning of the day I am due to fly westward, I wake up late - late being a few minutes before 9.00 am - on a day on which I have an 11.35 am flight to catch with neither a packed bag nor sorted transport for comfort. When I finally pull myself out of my bed, I call a cab for 9.30 am, and beginning tossing clothes, books and my laptop into the grab bag I use for these quick across-the-pond jaunts.

Kicking off the Christmas silly season, breaking my beer duck and the 2011 wrap

Sat, 24 Dec 2011 10:02:00 +0000

Mid December usually kicks off the Christmas party silly season out here. Given that as far back as October, our coffee room conversations had started to take on a decidedly Christmas-sy bent, it was no surprise that the first event of the season came early this year – a team lunch at the Soul bar on Union Street in November no less. Thanks to the atrocious weather I ended up marooned offshore, restricted to taking to Facebook to moan about missing the free food and a half day off work.

Winter's first salvo, waiting for Ally and a curious case of begging..

Mon, 19 Dec 2011 18:59:12 +0000

[gallery]

The much threatened snow storm finally hit, and when it did it was an anti-climax of sorts. Rather than the promised chaos and long tail backs, there were only mild disruptions at most. I suspect the winter has a lot more sting in its tail, but its first salvo has been under-whelming at worst. Given the town’s penchant for gory, frightful winters, I’ll take under-whelming any time.

One evening, I am standing just inside the doors at Union Square – earphones plugged in with The Script on repeat, hands in my coat pockets and looking out - as the maelstrom of humanity just belched out by the 18:17 train from Dyce sweeps by. I am usually at home by this time - heaters fired up, warm drink in hand, catching up on re-runs of NCIS - but I am out today waiting to pick up a friend whose train should have arrived a few minutes earlier. He and I haven’t met up in at least three years - I suspect it’s probably more - even though we have kept in touch via email and the odd phone call here and there. He has been holidaying, taking in the sights of Europe and gate crashing one party too many whilst checking yet more places off his places-to-see-before-I-die list. A chance conversation a couple of weeks before helped make up his mind to toss in a sleep over at mine – the final pit stop before the train that is his holiday hurtles on to Nigeria and a return to the drudgery of work. A quick glance at the arrivals board at the station alerts me to the unfortunate fact that his train has been delayed by a further fifteen minutes.

The weekend of debauchery (that wasn't)

Mon, 21 Nov 2011 11:13:45 +0000

It was supposed to be the weekend that banished my 2011 troubles from memory and got me to let my hair down - something I admittedly do not do often enough. There was the small matter of needing to send in my passport to Mama Charlie’s lackeys for an extension to my residence permit, as well as navigating a week of water survival training (given my well documented aversion for large water bodies).

Deconstructing the Dalglish Conjecture

Mon, 14 Nov 2011 21:19:24 +0000

The following was instigated by a discussion on Twitter with @ Sir Fariku on the case for football as a compelling metaphor for a bloke’s dating life and the Brothers With No Game series on Which Footballer Are You?

In the 1997 movie ‘My Best Friend’s Wedding’ directed by P.J. Hogan, Julianne Potter (played by Julia Roberts) finds herself facing a conundrum of sorts. Her long term friend, Michael O’Neil (played by Dermot Mulroney) informs her a few days short of her own 28th birthday of his impending marriage to Kimberly (played by Cameron Diaz). This should be great news, except for the small matter of a pact between Julianne and Michael where they had agreed that if they remained single till they turned 28, they would get married to each other. She also believes (rightly or wrongly) that Kimberly is the wrong person for him to get married to.

The evening before...

Mon, 07 Nov 2011 00:03:07 +0000

The evening before the morning I am due to fly, I stay awake till the wee hours of the morning tossing and turning on my bed. There is the reality of the unfinished business between TheB and I that needs sorting out one way or the other; and that thought, scary as it is, leaves my mind accelerating into overdrive. These could potentially be game changing events I am about to unleash, if I grow the balls to go through with it. History suggests that it will be yet another dumb squib.. One way or the other, there has to be some clarity I reckon

Counting down...

Mon, 03 Oct 2011 18:34:51 +0000

I think it is a little too early, but out here in ruralville the airwaves are already awash with ads for Christmas get aways. At work our coffee room conversations too are taking a decidedly christmas-sy bent: turkey shopping, holiday bookings, grand children, the company christmas ball and fine wine seem to come to the fore a little easier these days. The weather man promised an Indian summer of sorts, but our sun - for all its light - seems to be the evil twin of the one which terrorised us a scant few months ago, all light and no warmth ably aided by the wind which howls through every open space like a spurned suitor.

A little piece of autumn, brain drain and chance meetings

Mon, 05 Sep 2011 18:25:59 +0000

It is the end of August, and the new crowd is in town. I imagine the cold, wet and windy autumnal weather can hardly be the sort of welcome anyone from warmer climes could have been expecting, but for those of us north of the border, it is our lot, and moan as we may, it is what we are stuck with.

Union Street is pretty much akin to Port Harcourt’s Aba Road, and every time a fresh batch of people hits town it swells like a river straining at its banks. As I pick my way through the human traffic I spot elements of the new crowd. It is always easy to spot them - either by the fact that they walk in groups of two or three, peering at maps, and chattering loudly in whatever their native tongue is, clearly excited at the new adventure they have set themselves, or by the fact that they are dressed up to the nines, over coat, head warmer, gloves and all, even though it is barely September.

Six degrees

Tue, 30 Aug 2011 12:31:24 +0000

Walking into the phone store in the bowels of the big sprawling mall that sits right next to the hell-hole I currently work at, my eyes are drawn to one of the lads at the till. My first impression is that he is Nigerian - what with his thick lips and his quick and easy smile. I am in-store to activate the 6 month’s free internet that should have come with the phone I bought. After much haranguing from my cousin about my being notoriously difficult to catch, I agreed to buy a blackberry - even though I am well aware of the madness being pinged at odd hours can cause.

About Town: The birthday party edition

Sun, 14 Aug 2011 21:38:29 +0000

Given our propensity to moan about the little corner of the North East where we currently live, it is somewhat strange that I, and the four or so long term friends I have here, do not make time out to meet up more often. In fairness to my friend O, it is not for want of his trying; several attempts to organise a meet up have floundered, torpedoed by our wildly varying schedules and travel plans.

Calorie Counting

Fri, 05 Aug 2011 19:41:50 +0000

Up until this week, I didn’t know that lumbering along at a fairly respectable 4.5km/hr for 1.3km only burned calories the equivalent of a 34.5g bag of Walkers ready salted potato crisps.

I blame my sister for that. She - all sharp mouthed, 5’-4", verbal terrorist Edo woman that she is - decided that last Saturday was the day to put her foot down and insist that something had to be done about my burgeoning waistline. I couldn’t have guessed our little chat would segue into those matters, if I did I would have invented a network failure and hung up. She, the mistress of subterfuge, began by regaling me with our usual fare - stories about the nieces and cousins, about who was seeing whom and all the other mundanities - before mentioning that she had run into an old schoolmate of mine. Said schoolmate was this huge, built-like-a-wardrobe bully who terrorised us all those many years ago in primary school. We had a nickname for him, puff-puff, only used when he was out of earshot; given because he looked like a hurriedly fried, misshapen ball of puff puff. I hadn’t seen him in years, but by my sister’s account he had morphed from puff-puff into a Fally Ipupa clone.

About Town: The chicken tikka edition

Wed, 20 Jul 2011 12:12:47 +0000

My memories of previous encounters with Indian cuisine are not exactly fond. The last time - an impromptu appearance at a leaving do for an Indian expat from work - I ended up tossing and turning through the night, tormented both bodily and mentally by masala dosa. Thanks to that, and my well documented lack of adventure when it comes to food, it was my last attempt at eating anything Indian- a full five years ago.

Skillet - Yours to Hold

Sun, 03 Jul 2011 20:56:42 +0000

Stumbled on this song whilst clearing out music on my old computer, and I fell in love with it all over again. 60 plays and counting in just over a day.

On Lists

Wed, 29 Jun 2011 20:37:46 +0000

Lists appear to have suddenly become the leitmotif of the few blogs I read. From Don Miller sharing his fiancee’s list to Esco imagining the All Nigerian Girl, to AnyaPosh, Miss Enigma, Sting and all the lasses doing that 30 day blogging thing, everyone appears to be sharing bits and pieces of lists.

When I was much younger I was a big fan of lists - on everything from five year goals and plans, gadgets to buy to what I wanted in a spouse - complete with excel spreadsheets which calculated weighted averages across the various categories. The one thing I didn’t bargain for was that it would become a mechanistic check-the-box-or-check-out exercise - that happened - nor did I question the basis on which the items were identified, or if indeed I was at a time and place where I could expect those qualities from others.

Life moments

Tue, 21 Jun 2011 07:45:40 +0000

This morning on my commute into work - whilst plugged into my iPod staring out of the window as the city stirs to life - a little boy and a man I assume is his father catch my attention.

They are seated two rows in front of me. The boy cannot be more than five by my reckoning, especially because he is dressed in the navy blue jumper that the school down the road from my stop uses for a uniform. The man has his arm around the boy who rests his head on his side. From where I am sat, I can hear them conversing in low tones. I am not close enough to make out what they are saying but in that moment I allow my mind roam.

That Awkward Moment

Sun, 05 Jun 2011 19:33:28 +0000

… when after finally finding a seat on the packed bus, some odd smell hits your nostrils like a Mike Tyson left hook. It is an odd mix of stale sweat, putrid urine and beer. You look around, wondering what the source might be. When the portly gentleman seated right next to you moves, a fresh salvo assaults your nostrils identifying him as the culprit. Unfortunately, the next stop is a full fifteen minutes away, so you are stuck with ‘savouring’ the smells.

About Town

Wed, 01 Jun 2011 12:52:26 +0000

It is the end of May, and spring is finally seguing into summer. You wouldn’t know this if the last few days are all you had to go by. We have been besieged by a procession of colder weather, rains and strong winds - winds which have caused no small measure of chaos in the highlands so far. Thankfully today the sun is out - almost Lagos-esque in its warmth - and the dull grey granite walls which define this city by their ubiquity already look better thanks to the dash of colour the sun adds.

In which I perfect the non-trivial art of eating hot dodo

Tue, 31 May 2011 22:18:30 +0000

One of my lesser known ’life skills’ is eating piping hot dodo - and that fresh from the frying pan. Looking back, this non-trivial skill was honed in the kitchen of #19 Aiguobasinmwin Crescent. It must have been sometime in 1986 - those were the heady days in which Lawrence Anini our very own Robin Hood-lite and his side kick Monday Osunbor reigned supreme in Benin City. Sane, un-jazzed-up people stayed indoors, the not so sane limited their night-time frolicking nonetheless.

Hymnals and Memories

Sun, 29 May 2011 21:49:05 +0000

Given my decidedly abysmal attendance at church this year, it is somewhat out of character that I arrive early enough to catch the beginning of the opening hymn, the incredibly mellifluous All Things Bright and Beautiful. It is one hymn, in all its variants of tune and stanza, which I have come to associate with growing up all those many years ago on a University campus in Nigeria. For all of ten years, it was a perennial favourite amongst the teachers and prefects who led morning assemblies, and along with my well worn copy of Songs of Praise remains stuck in my head as markers from that phase of life.

Of Nigerian Wives

Thu, 26 May 2011 18:06:27 +0000

Based on data extracted from this Nairaland thread.

I was bored at work so I took the liberty of trying to create an infographic from the pros and cons (for women) on the list. I shrunk the pros and cons into twenty one categories and gave each ethnicity a ‘+1’ where it was a pro, a ‘0’ where they were not assessed and a ‘-1’ where that category was marked as a con. The ‘pros’ have been condensed into a fraction measuring the potential returns on investing in a Nigerian woman, whilst the ‘cons’ have similarly been aggregated to give a measure of how ‘high maintenance’ a Nigerian woman can be. The size of the bubble is a measure of the chikability (how likely it is that a bloke’s toastings will gell).

At the insistence of O.

Sat, 07 May 2011 19:44:21 +0000

I owe my Saturday afternoon out to the persistence of my friend O. It is 3.30pm when his call comes in. Having taken the luxury of a long weekend off, I have rocked my couch well nigh to extinction, subsisting on NCIS and CSI and re-runs of The District on the television. The bright and sunny day out there has not been enough to lure me out of my comfort zone. He has been holed up for a different reason. Finals on his PhD are coming up thick and fast, and he is grateful for the chance to take a breather.

TGIF...

Sat, 23 Apr 2011 10:04:17 +0000

I get a phone call from my buddy Ken. Yet another one of the blokes from work has moved on to ‘pastures new’ and we who have been left behind are meeting up for drinks and to chat. It is a welcome distraction from the events of the last few weeks - missing EJ, a couple of massive projects at work and the fairly steady haranguing I have been getting from my mother.

I have been thinking...

Thu, 21 Apr 2011 18:24:31 +0000

Sometimes one thing can become every thing…..

Wedding bells...

Sun, 17 Apr 2011 06:56:13 +0000

I wake up to the insistent whine of my cell phone. I try to let it ring, hoping that whoever it is will leave a voice mail but when the call ends there is only a respite of a couple of minutes before the next call comes in. I drag myself to my desk and pick up the phone on the third ring, it is my mother.

- Oohjay how are you, she asks.

Marriage Matters..

Thu, 14 Apr 2011 06:23:41 +0000

I am checking my emails when a LinkedIn notification comes in. Over the past few months, LinkedIn has morphed into a Facebook for professionals - never more so than in its ability, and willingness, to dreg emails and address books for connections to suggest. This particular suggestion is for a connection to a friend of my father’s from back in the day when he was a struggling academic, labouring under the especially onerous conditions of the Abacha era. I add him, and after a few minutes he accepts. He emails me, asking me where and how I am, how my parents are, and then adds the marriage question..

Sunday guest...

Tue, 12 Apr 2011 20:38:30 +0000

Someone shouts my high school nickname in the middle of Union Square, just as I am about to take a left turn through the train station. I am more than a few minutes late having allowed my typical Sunday morning lethargy - part relapsed faith, part lingering hangover - to leave me in real danger of arriving late. By the time I finally pull myself off my bed, complete my preparations and grab the number 16 bus to the city centre, it is already 11.10am; meaning Sunday school is over, and the opening hymnal is just about to be sung.

Cabbie Chats...

Sun, 27 Mar 2011 14:17:21 +0000

Scotland play Brazil down south today. Today’s cab driver is a chatty Scotsman merrily drawing puffs from his nicotine inhaler. From the get go it seems like he is in the mood to talk. The bright sunny weather offers him a starting point.

- Sunny day today, he says when I finally get my seat belt fastened and the journey kicked off. We make small talk about the weather, and how spring seems to have come a little earlier this year. He gently chides me, warning me not to tempt fate by celebrating the weather.

Turning Point..

Tue, 22 Mar 2011 19:18:55 +0000

Following on from the increasingly earlier start to first light, the fading of the rains and a strengthening sun, I had my first day this year of sleeping without heating. Spring truly is here then I guess….

Sunny Days..

Mon, 21 Mar 2011 13:42:03 +0000

Wohooo.. Sunny Days are here again..

A Dream Deferred...

Sun, 20 Mar 2011 21:33:18 +0000

Out of the blue, Lorraine Hansberry’s A Raisin in the Sun came to mind this morning. I did a bit of googling and managed to find the full text of the Langston Hughes poem that inspired the title: A Dream Deferred.

What happens to a dream deferred? Does it dry up like a raisin in the sun? Or fester like a sore– And then run? Does it stink like rotten meat? Or crust and sugar over– like a syrupy sweet? Maybe it just sags like a heavy load. Or does it explode?

Decisions, Decisions..

Sat, 12 Mar 2011 19:29:10 +0000

To do a Fernando Torres or not is the million seven thousand dollar question facing me now. The situation can’t be more similar - a move across town to the old enemy, at a ‘wrong’ time, and a few kegs of bad blood spilt on both sides. Sometimes too much choice is bad…. sigh.

Reasons Not To Be On Bus 16: #1 - Drunk American Tourists

Fri, 11 Mar 2011 21:26:02 +0000

I lug my knapsack, and join the queue at the bus stop. It is one of those really cold days, made worse because the day before was on the other side of warm and I am not properly dressed for the weather - that, and the howling wind. There is a little queue building up - roadworks have meant that the bus is operating a slightly lighter schedule. A man walks up to me wearing a kilt and holding bag pipes. He seems to be in his late thirties or early forties and there is the ubiquitous whiff of alcohol on his breath - and a few weeks old stubble on his chin with a smattering of grey. I increase the volume a little more on my iPod to stave off the inevitable inane banter. He doesn’t seem impressed. He shifts from one foot to the other making wheezing noises all the time.

Father Issues...

Wed, 09 Mar 2011 18:18:18 +0000

On the 4th ring, someone answers the phone. The voice is distant, seemingly attenuated by all the miles of cabling and ether between me and the recipient. There is a certain sleepy quality to the voice too, as though I have woken them up from the depths of an afternoon nap. Its late afternoon in that part of the world, that time of day when the oppressive heat and the lack of activity on a Sunday afternoon combine to lull one into a dreamy haze.

Beating the flu, conversations over lunch and a question of faith...

Sun, 06 Mar 2011 21:20:07 +0000

I finally beat my bout of the flu. Two days off work away from the cesspool of infection and re-infection - and a strong smelling concoction served up by my friend O - proved the final sucker punch that knocked out the few remaining colonies of the bug I picked up. I still do not consider myself at 100% fit, but at least it has become possible to settle into a close approximation of my old routines even though a slight headache remains.

Bug Fest..

Tue, 01 Mar 2011 09:16:28 +0000

My head hurts… The unwanted gift of a hammering headache, a running nose, a sore throat and a rasping cough have laid into me - unintended consequences of open plan offices, shared spaces and recycled air laden with seasonal bugs. We have been pressed into the service of our very own macabre orchestra - our wheezing, sneezing and coughing all coming together in a bug fest.. I really wish I could call in sick tomorrow.. Sigh..

Not feeling it...

Thu, 24 Feb 2011 21:07:26 +0000

Sleep and I have never been the best of friends. As far down the labyrinths of memories that I can navigate I find that I have always been an early sleeper, prone to be awakened by the lightest of commotions. Perhaps it is me clutching at omens - seeking to find solace in unrelated events - but days when I have awakened early with full control of my senses something momentous has happened.

Sidewalk Preacher..

Wed, 23 Feb 2011 20:52:21 +0000

I am waiting for the bus to work when I see a four-wheel drive approach. Two men jump out and proceed to hand out invites of some sort. When I finally get mine, its for a seeker focused meeting at the Church opposite the road from the bus stop. In another place, these men would be armed with portable microphones, blaring out the Gospel.. Interestingly, what I remember is the white-clothed variant….

Piling up the Books..

Mon, 21 Feb 2011 20:40:31 +0000

The size of the reading list for 2011 is threatening to spiral out of control. And I am adding more to the list… Added two new books to the list - Paulo Coelho’s The Alchemist and Teju Cole’s Open City. That brings to five the books on the list.. Sigh..

Simple Things...

Sun, 20 Feb 2011 03:20:00 +0000

Sometimes simple things can break you. Benign things repeated time and time again can finally reach a threshold that leaves a scar - scratch marks burned on the wall of ones consciousness like ravines gouged out of hard rock by the persistence of a swollen river. It is not an inherent danger of the act, but its repetition that finally wears one out.

I have been carrying a beeping device around. Every thirty minutes a faint beep sounds - a precursor to the inflation of a cuff around my arm - and then I must stretch my hand out for one more data point to be acquired. At first it was novelty and I tried to anticipate when the next beep might sound. But with each beep and straightening of the arm,a certain weariness descends. I want out of the control the little device has over me. Sadly, the only choice I had was in accepting..The consequence was chosen for me at the same time.

Bleh....

Wed, 16 Feb 2011 21:14:00 +0000

I finally drag myself out of bed at the third time of asking. It is shaping up to be one of those days; one when an ultra short to-do list will manage to get the better of me. Something about the lack of urgency spawned by a short to-do list has always been my besetting ‘sin’. Today, there is one thing that must needs be done - I’m off to the GP’s to have a 24 hour blood pressure monitoring device fitted.

In praise of 3.00pm....

Wed, 16 Feb 2011 15:00:53 +0000

If clocking in at 9am is the final act that seals my very own Faustian exchange, 3.00pm heralds the first faint sniffs of a coming salvation.

Each day, a Bloke must lay the gifts of his time and skill on the altar of Mammon slaving away to earn his sustenance. Cups of coffee, endless trips to the loo, inane spreadsheets, chats with the intern and the occasional hard shift are all tools in the Bloke’s arsenal as he strives to make time pass quickly to justify the day’s pay. If the Bloke is lucky, make that uncommonly lucky, he finds his daily grind slightly more than remotely interesting. If he is like the rest of us, sometimes work is a long drawn out struggle with boredom.

Seasons of Discontent..

Tue, 15 Feb 2011 17:14:00 +0000

The discontent is almost palpable. There is that sense of wanting more that seems to leave those it has infected disaffected with the status quo. Rumour has it that a number of senior company people are lining up moves elsewhere for themselves. It hasn’t helped that there is some uncertainty over what the long term company strategy is. A number of key company cash cows projects appear to be slipping and just what will happen to the personnel currently servicing them is unclear. People huddle in twos and three talking in hushed tones - tones that suddenly fade to an uncomfortable silence when someone outside the huddle approaches within hearing distance.

Recapping the road trip..

Sun, 13 Feb 2011 03:08:00 +0000

I finally went on that road trip. I packed my bags, booked my flights and went on a jaunt to America. America for me was two cities - a flying stop in Chicago and a couple of weeks spent vegetating in Houston. The America I saw was a welcome relief from the biting cold that was my home city; 17 degree temperatures were Lagos-esque when juxtaposed with the near Arctic conditions I had fled from.

WebReads.. 04Feb2011

Sat, 05 Feb 2011 05:49:38 +0000

Steve shares his learnings so far - 30 days after quitting Facebook
The Christian Illuminati? Or Just a well connected crew? More questions than answers in this teaser...
Large-proofing emergency services - counting the costs.
The Jerusalem UFO, or a drone?
Becoming invisible?
Wack or what? The bloke who added his wife to a terrorist watch list to prevent her flying back home.
‘Spray-on skin’ for burn victims.
This brings a whole new meaning to the storm in a tea-cup idiom. Storm in a bed sheet?
Mubarak’s cronies launch a cyber counter-insurgency…
Mosquitoes evolved?

2008.... Again..

Thu, 03 Feb 2011 22:14:05 +0000

I suspect that the truest measure of how sensibly one has aged is how well one is able to take a long hard look at choices - and their potential long term effects - before acting. Time, that most elusive of customers, respects no one. From the day that we are born, our share - ladled without so much as an explanation lobbed in our direction - ineluctably runs out like sand in an hour glass. Each passing second once spent is lost, left to float in the seething morass that is the conflation of opportunities missed, acts of omission and of omission and perhaps on the odd occasion windows of opportunity fully utilised.

Slow-ville....

Wed, 02 Feb 2011 03:47:00 +0000

The last few weeks here have looked and felt like life on slow play. Days blending into weeks, weeks somehow adding up to January ending. Slow-ville … Yawn..

Money matters...

Fri, 28 Jan 2011 20:48:47 +0000

ISAs, Fixed deposits, Savings Plus, Pension plans, and playing the stock market…… Money on my mind and that not in a good way… If only I could win the lottery… Sigh.. :(

Tagged: The stylish and Versatile Meme...

Sun, 23 Jan 2011 16:29:19 +0000

It has been aeons since I was tagged. Apparently Esco thinks we are stylish and versatile as does Jaycee… Versatile? Maybe.. Stylish? Definitely not.. Just ask the girlfriend… So here goes…

My wardrobe is composed entirely of blacks, greys and whites - except for two shirts that were imposed on me in January by you know who…
I am an Adult Child of Practising Preachers - I’m not quite the quintessential preacher’s kid although even I would admit I have my moments..
My mother’s first degree was in English - and she still corrects my text messages till date (which is why I do not send her a lot of them).
The first non-explicitly Christian song I ever sang was A Whole New World from the Aladdin soundtrack. Blame it on a TV-starved, ultra conservative childhood.
I love chilling to music… I once had Brooke Fraser’s Shadow Feet on repeat for close on three straight days… I’ve had Steve Fee’s When Everything Falls Apart on repeat today..
I’m a Football Manager addict player. Interestingly, I have a new pal at work who I connected with over Football Manager. These days we swap in-game stories over lunch..
My one moment of fame was being handed the role of the Magi bearing Myrrh in our Children’s church theatrical adaptation of ‘We Three Kings’ for Christmas back in the day. That has not prevented me from fantasizing about playing lead guitar at a live gig before 2020.. Fat chance I guess, but hey I can dream…

Tagging? I’m not sure who has done this and who has not.. So.. feel free.. Run with it.. Its therapeutic..:)

On Turning Thirty...

Thu, 06 Jan 2011 14:32:00 +0000

I never celebrated turning thirty. The significance of achieving that chronological milestone was lost in the hustle of every life - a barely discernible peak in the flat line that had become a monotonous existence. I had just lost a cast iron guarantee to return to my old job in Nigeria followed quickly by the petering out of what I thought was a nice, strong girl connection. One day I fell asleep, the next I awoke to being thirty plus.

On reading..

Sun, 02 Jan 2011 14:28:00 +0000

On my forty things by forty list is a task to read 25 books each year. For 2011, I am thinking of starting off with the Booker Prize lists. I suspect a few of them might be out of print, but from running my eye over the list there appears to be at least a few of particular interest. Ben Okri’s 1991 winner ‘The Famished Road’ and Ian McEwan’s ‘Amsterdam’ stand out as starting points. First off though will be ‘The Finkler Question’ by Howard Jacobsen - thanks to the Kindle… :)

New Starts....

Sun, 02 Jan 2011 03:35:00 +0000

The turn of the year is unique for the way it inspires one to try better. Plans from the last year, cast aside without thought or regret, suddenly return to the fore of the mind - seeking to exact their recompense for one’s neglect. Its a New Year.. The one thing I plan on doing this year is to articulate more of the thoughts floating around in my head. Hopefully I’ll write a piece each day on here.. Maybe I’ll not..December 31, 2011 will be the final judge of how well I fared…

When words leave a mark...

Fri, 31 Dec 2010 18:32:18 +0000

A chance meeting - via the ubiquity of the internet - with Yousef Komunyakaa’s poem ‘Ode to The Drum’ left an indelible mark on me.

The sheer beauty of the lines, rich imagery that harks back to a time of hunting for sustenance in Africa and the ritual of drum making are things that I have never been able to forget. In the poem a hunter kills a gazelle, skins it, and uses its skin for a drum. The hunter maintains an ongoing monologue, almost apologetically stating the case for killing the gazelle. There is meat, and the need to drive trouble from the valley via the beating of a drum. In the process of creating a drum, the gazelle is reborn - from dead weight slouching in the grassy hush to a drum beat filling the valley and exorcising evil. This, to me, is the under-girding theme - transformation; from evil to good, from death to a different sort of life. As the year 2010 wraps up, perhaps the closing lines are apt..

The Year in... Infographics..

Mon, 27 Dec 2010 17:53:01 +0000

A few of the info-graphics that captured my eye this year..

Football Chalkboards: For us the discerning football enthusiasts, chalkboards were the revelations of 2010. Granted the Guardian debuted with them in early 2009, but the Roy vs Rafa debate for us Liverpool fans ensured chalkboards became the ultimate resource for assessing how high up the pitch the lads press, passes completed, oh and the aptly named heatmaps.
Twitter is not a conversation: Us Twitter apologists usually claim Twitter as a conversation for being one of the reasons we stay on Twitter. Sadly, the data does not support that claim, as this info-graphic from 2010 showed.
The world according to Facebook: In December, Paul Butler at Facebook came up with an interesting info-graphic; a world map based on Facebook connections.
Marriage In America: TIME asked if marriage in America was still required. Al Mohler argued that we all do, and this PewSocial info-graphic captured the data.
Infostate of Africa: Fascinating… via AppAfrica Flickr account…

Christmas in the City..

Sat, 25 Dec 2010 10:23:07 +0000

Waking up to the strains of We Three Kings Of Orient Are on the BBC’s Radio 2 brings back memories of days long lost - of youth, of creativity and an unfettered enjoyment of life.

When I was much younger (close on twenty years ago now, cringe), I took part in the carolling, recitals of bible verses committed to memory, and nativity plays which were the highlight of the Christmas season in our small University town in Nigeria. This hymn though, is one especially important to me because it marked the first time I was selected to sing a lead vocal. Granted, I ran over the lines, forgot some, went ‘off key’, and probably knocked my knees so loudly a few well placed microphones might have picked up on them, but it was still a ‘solo’ performance.

2010: The Year in... Words..

Sun, 19 Dec 2010 15:45:30 +0000

Words that were burned into my conciousness in 2010..

swingeing |ˈswinji ng | adjective chiefly Brit. severe or otherwise extreme :
out-with | out- wiθ | preposition. chiefly Scot. outside:
knackered |ˈnækərd | adjective British Slang. exhausted; very tired:
ta | tɑ | interjection British Slang. thank you:
wee | wi | adjective chiefly Scottish. little:

2010: The Year in.... Cabs

Fri, 17 Dec 2010 18:05:04 +0000

I think cab drivers are a microcosm of the larger society and that if a sufficiently large sample is analysed, one can gain critical insights into the mind of a city. This has to be the year where I used cabs the most. Tight deadlines at work, atrocious weather conditions, moving houses and a few late night jaunts around town conspired to leave me needing cabs at various times this year. The downside was largely financial – I ended up racking up significant costs on renting cabs over the year. On the plus side, I think I gained a window into the mindset of this city.

Going Ons...

Sat, 11 Dec 2010 13:14:29 +0000

The number 16 bus into the city centre is packed - brim full with people heading into town. The atrocious weather of the last few days let up briefly today, and with the imminence of Christmas, everyone seems to be up and about to get the last bits of shopping done. The bus stop where I clamber aboard the number 16 is mid way between the starting terminus and the ending terminus, as such I can only find standing space, ironically next to a sign that ostensibly marks the limits of standing room. Next to me are a mother and her daughter. The daughter cannot be more than six years old and still possesses the unbridled energy and uninhibited curiosity being young and carefree brings. The atmosphere is tense - of the kind where a word out of place potentially could let loose a fire storm. There are people plugged into iPods, people huddled together in groups chatting away and people like me who are alone, with lowered eyes looking into the distance. The little girl becomes the side show though - firing off question after question to her mother, peering into people’s faces, and at some stage leaning in towards her mother and planting a kiss on her cheek whilst whispering “I love you Mum”. When she gives the wizened old lady behind me a fixed stare. I wonder how the bus scene would look like in a different country, south of the Sahara. For the first time in a few months, I remember my mother.

Winter's first blows, 2010 and other random thoughts...

Mon, 01 Nov 2010 19:39:34 +0000

Winter has struck its first tentative blows - two successive days last week we woke up to see our world carpeted with a thin layer of snow. Karla - Benny’s wife who has lived all her life in this town - swears that this is the first time she’s seen snow fall in October. Considering last winter was one in which several firsts going back thirty years were bested, that singular piece of news leaves one with a sense of dread. Those who should know better also swear by their instruments that this will be yet another long, hard, harsh winter. In anticipation - and I should add as usual - the gas and power suppliers are inching the rates upwards. Not since 2008 has there being such a significant hike in prices. Predictably there is discontent at huge profits, pay for executives and other such perceived signs of exploitation in the face of price rises. One paper goes as far as saying ‘Christmas will be ruined’ - for an annual average increase of a princely seventy pounds or 67.2 bottles of Becks premium lager…. The days when we bemoaned twenty-six degree weather seem so far away now..

Web Reads....

Mon, 25 Oct 2010 19:50:34 +0000

Texas in Africa gives a clear cut example of how correlation is not causation but notes the difficulties involved in finding the distinction in real life contexts…

The distinction between causation and correlation - and the obsession with making sure the two are not confused - sets quality research apart from shoddy or sloppy research. It’s incredibly frustrating to me to read a hastily put-together advocacy report or journalist’s account that assumes correlation means causation, despite the lack of evidence for such a claim. I understand why it happens; advocates and journalists have to work quickly, and if they talk to people who don’t understand the difference, how would they know otherwise? But it’s incredibly frustrating to see these errors made, especially when they lead to bad policy decisions.

Sigh..

Sun, 24 Oct 2010 00:11:44 +0000

Sighing, is all I can do….. Fantasy Queen and Adia said it all.. :(

Stuff I will not miss about NCT..

Fri, 15 Oct 2010 18:33:14 +0000

Broken lifts - gave me free exercise but thirteen flights of steps went a wee bit too far…
Empty bottles, spilled liquids and much more in the lifts when they actually worked….
Extra rowdy football crowds - if only they actually won something…..
Jehovah’s Witnesses proselytizing - oh and they offered to come back…
Mr Landlord - who smoked in the house, once decided to remodel the bath on a Monday morning and was generally a pain in the nether regions….
Attempted murder just across the road and in broad daylight too…
A notorious park within the neighborhood…
Hate messages scrawled on freshly painted walls, and scratched on lift doors….
Raised eyebrows when I give my post code at the GP…
Regular police fliers in the mail requesting information on crimes committed in the neighborhood……

Ten months after making the move up north - and opting to go the cheap route to stay in the vicinity of a council flat - I’m finally moving houses… Its good to be moving on…. If I can only get the heating and the internet to work.. ..

YNWA

Fri, 15 Oct 2010 17:06:05 +0000

After a long running saga, Liverpool FC was finally sold to another set of Americans.. NESV principal and the new club owner , John W Henry, had this to say so us ’long suffering’ fans…

All I can say at this point is we’re going to work as hard for you as we possibly can and there’s no doubt about it, you deserve it. You have supported this club through the worst of times now and we’re going to do everything in our power to make the supporters proud of their club and of us. It’s a big challenge but I think we’re up for that challenge.

Summer's end, chicken fajitas and cuts at the BEEB

Sat, 25 Sep 2010 06:48:00 +0000

Only the most deluded of persons would deny that summer is well and truly over. Not only does it feel quite chilly, the trees also think so. Hyde park, which by much squinting I can just see from my 13th floor window at MO Corp, is covered in a layer of browns, reds, golds and the odd green patch crafted by fallen leaves as the trees acknowledge autumn. The sun on the odd occasion it manages to peek from behind the dull clouds seems weak, tired and offers no real warmth. Moments like these are those which fill me with a misplaced sense of nostalgia. Mercifully, I have my fleece with me as I head off to lunch with the team from work.

Weather, Bus trips and an absence of reading.

Sat, 11 Sep 2010 16:06:00 +0000

Out here, they say summer lasts one day, and no its not Midsummer’s day. That claim - entirely anecdotal mind you - has been made with surprising regularity by quite a few of the cab drivers I have had the opportunity to chat with while commuting to work. One cab driver even offered a quasi-scientific explanation, the town is surrounded by highlands on one side and the North Sea on the other which explains the bi-polar behaviour of the weather. Yesterday it was a windy 8 degrees, the day before a summery 14 degrees, today its rained bucket loads of water. The locals have quit bothering - they merely shrug and quiescently suggest tomorrow will be a better day.

Randoms.

Sat, 28 Aug 2010 05:27:32 +0000

This week I:

Learned that I’m still irritated by text speak and mixed up grammar - when I am not the one dishing them out. Having a supposedly ‘serious’ conversation with someone highlighted this very clearly to me.
Learned that the expression ‘appearances are deceptive’ may sound cliche but it can be really true. I have just had an interesting conversation with a friend of mine which segued into territory I never knew she had loads of experience in.
Finally got to cross out one more book from my reading list. Kite Runner was sad, engaging and provided an insight into the Afghanistan situation - almost Chris Abani-ish. I loved the hint of redemption in the final scenes.
Received a non work related handwritten note for the first time in close to six or seven years, on scented paper no less. The hand writing was horrible, but the gesture was well appreciated by me.
Became an Uncle, then a God father twice - all within three days of each other. My littlest sister, and two very close friends all conspired to deliver babies within three days of each other, and my birthday. None of them shares the day with me though. Talk about bad timing!
Saw new evidence that convinces me I live in my head - which is well insulated from the world. I went another week without getting angry, happy, sad or feeling any other strong emotion.I think I need for someone to get under my skin enough to make me exhibit strong emotions. That would convince me I am still connected to the world and not in my own cocoon.
Got assigned a fancy new title at work - its one of those ones that is as long as your arm, but means absolutely nothing to my pay packet. Tsk! Tsk!
Watched two interesting TED Talks - Dan Cobley on What physics can teach us about marketing and Ethan Zuckerman on Listening to Global voices.
Acted totally out of character and reached out to someone I would never ever have connected with previously - oh and it was truly altruistic.. at least in my head.
Averaged three and a half hours of sleep per night all week - so not good!

Off to the comfort of my duvet now.. :)

An intrepid fishman, I

Wed, 25 Aug 2010 12:30:01 +0000

I registered for the City’s Learn to Swim program - today was the D-day, Day One of the training sessions.

Considering it was my first time in the pool for a long time, and I retain an almost pathological fear for water, I think I did ok. Granted I swallowed a fear gulps of the pool water, filled my ears with it, and generally made a nuisance of myself.

There are positives though- I am certainly not the worst of my batch, there are a few other Nigerians to alleviate any feeling of lostness, and the instructor adds a whole new dimension to the definition of hilarious. The one downside is there are no beautiful women- just flat chested, keg bellied blokes like yours truly.

Busy as a bee....

Wed, 28 Jul 2010 19:49:36 +0000

I have been busy. I have spent the last couple of weeks up to my ears in work. No fault of mine - mind you - but yet another unusual turn of events has meant that I have been thrust into the eye of the storm at a new project. Needless to say, it is keeping with the over arching theme of my life - getting lucky breaks when i least expect them, or even deserve them. Two blokes overseeing proceedings on behalf of my firm at a prized client between them contrived to move on - one to pastures new, and the other to the ignominy of summary dismissal. I, the only available bloke, has thus been thrust in, in a moment, at the deep end. Truth be told, the tasks at hand are quotidian at best - ordinary run of the mill things that I in my field should be able to handle without batting an eyelid. The only dark cloud on the bright blue skies however is the sheer amount of paper work that yours truly has to sift through. There are mitigating circumstances - for the first time in seven years of slaving for various employers in three jobs and three continents, I am the only male member of a predominantly female work group. Truth be told, the ladies are fabulous to work with - friendly, a wee bit too chatty, but great company all the same. Throw in occasional gifts of a home made sandwich, and free lunch on the company and it is an excellent situation for my bachelor instincts. All in all, it looks like it is shaping up to be a grand few weeks… and then we roll out the champagne..

Phew.. finally its over...

Sat, 10 Jul 2010 04:25:02 +0000

Thankfully this week is over, finally. Its been a maelstrom of activity - two client work sites, hand overs, reviews and piles of stuff to catch up with. The worst bits had to be the getting set up bits - setting up remote access to my company email and network, new log on IDs and network access at the new place and all - plus there’s a first review in five weeks of stuff I was never involved in.

Free Food's great...

Sun, 04 Jul 2010 06:27:14 +0000

Free food is great, especially when you are a confirmed bachelor with an aversion for cooking. I’m sure if my pots and pans have a choice they would vote to have me back in their next ’lives’. Such is the ease of their lives! Providence must have decided to be kind to me though, as a few hours after complaining of feeling listless I got a phone call from my work buddy O to head off to the beach. He and I have an inside joke where I hail him as my mentor and he says I’m much too old to be mentored by him, and considering the boring lives we lead, hanging out is always a plus. Fast forward a few hours and we head off to the beach where we go to this Chinese buffet thingy at Jimmy Chung. Two huge cokes, lamb ribs, some curried rice and soup later, we could belch with satisfaction at a great days work - all for nine pounds. I should definitely do this again!

Six degrees and summer plans.

Sun, 16 May 2010 18:08:15 +0000

They say its a small world - and that everyone is connected to every one else by at most six people. Today I learned that first hand. My friend K has mentioned in the past that she’s got a sister in my town. Today I finally worked up the nerve had the opportunity to talk with her a bit (if talk can occur in 25 secs that is). Thing is K and I have some history of sorts - its one of those online collaborations which segued into an occasional offline chat and all. So when K’s sister asked how I knew K, I was a bit stumped.. Turns out there is another bloke, a T this time, who is mutual friends with K and I (again that undefined, web 2.0 kind), his name jumped out as the basis of my knowing K.. Turns out T also has a sister in my town, and in my church.. Cue the hems and ahh as to her I knew her brother - the official line was we ‘worked on a project together’.. That’s what I’m sticking with though.. Fingers crossed that the meeting ends up forgotten (or at least the bit about me knowing their siblings), else I’ll be having loads of explaining to do.. :)

Ponderings...

Fri, 14 May 2010 19:06:38 +0000

I’ve spent the last few months probing - looking to find a rationale for blogging that is not inextricably connected to feeding the over arching desire of my inner narcissist to be heard above the din that is the blogosphere….

2009 was different…. I followed over 1,000 blogs, I bounced from blog to blog leaving comments, there was banter, there was drama, there was poetry on a level I’d only dreamed of, there were blog collabos…. and a few crushes…. My old favorites were still around, and a few newbies served up delicious stuff… Oh.. the Anons spiced things up too…

Seventh Time around.

Wed, 28 Apr 2010 21:59:00 +0000

They say a righteous man falls seven times but rises up again. I don’t know about being righteous, but I sure have had falls, hopefully this is the seventh, in which I finally get to find me. The pieces of the life are coming together again, I’ve resolved my long standing ‘fight’ with my sister, I got great feedback on my first three months in a new role, I’ve made two great friends in my new city and I’ve started running thrice a week :) I have a lot to be thankful for, this is a new journey (hopefully). Welcome aboard.

30 is the real cool.....

Sun, 25 Apr 2010 06:37:20 +0000

Despite what the preponderance of mid-life crises and suicides around the 30 year age bracket would suggest, 30’s the new cool - and that for a variety of reasons.

For starters, people take you serious by default. In your teens they know you’ll faff around, in your twenties they’ll assume you’re growing and the occasional gaffe can be excused. In your 30’s they actually believe you know what you are about until you goof. Ain’t that uber-cool?
You get pimped for free. Depending on how far gone you are on the continuum, every one want to match make you. The best friend from University wants to hook you up with a niece, your cousins want to hitch you with friends and all that ish. Downside is it generally tends to rub you the wrong way - but hey who cares? They’re concerned.. That’s why!
All the unmarried chics from earlier on for whom you had crushes suddenly see you as a serious option especially if you have made good on the success your geekery promised as a precocious teenager. Chances are you’re so clueless around women that you do not have a baby mama in the background, which seems to be a huge plus these days..
Chances are you have a strand of gray hair here and there - and true to type if you wear glasses, you actually look cool (gasp). You, the sore-thumb-sticking-out-almost-worwor-bloke, suddenly has the desirable features of respectability.
Last but not the least, you actually have ten more years to play the fool - after all a fool at forty is a fool forever, but not before :)

Dodgy TV Adverts..

Wed, 21 Apr 2010 03:17:08 +0000

You know you need help - from mindlessly watching TV - when TV ads start getting to you. In my defense, these two have to be up there with the worst ads I’ve ever seen! Enjoy..

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F_-9QFvhQWo]

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MXiJBp7HK5o]

I guess they work by catching one’s attention, even if only by irritating one..

Get your 'Pee' on..

Thu, 08 Apr 2010 12:24:51 +0000

A fascinating history of peeing…. Apparently Mahatma Ghandi drank it regularly… http://www.neatorama.com/2010/04/08/bizarre-facts-about-pee/#more-30566

Help.....

Tue, 30 Mar 2010 12:17:55 +0000

The association of married and pregnant women holds its meetings twice a week. I don’t have a problem with that, except for the minor fact that they unfailingly decide to set up camp across the room from my pod at work. No, my character has not being impugned in any way - I am neither responsible, nor even remotely implicated, but their choice of venue riles me…

The topics covered are varied, but time after time they settle on being pregnant and being hot…… They can be excused - the oldest of them is twenty-six and they’re all first timers.. looking to work as long as possible before they hit the motherhood trail…. For the hour they meet, all we get to hear is trimesters, weight gain, gym routines for pregnant women… and a whole slew of designers I’ve never heard of…

The 'Case' for Smoking and Drinking...

Thu, 18 Mar 2010 12:36:41 +0000

I have a theory…. The world would be a much better place if everybody smoked and drank together..

This is a finding that cuts across age, race and location… I have found it true - based on anecdotal evidence mind you. I have not quite acquired the cross gender data yet… but I suspect it still holds true….

The proof? The way people’s eyes light up when they share a smoke…You can almost feel the electricity of bonding as they exhale in unison.. The smoke from their nostrils blending into an upward swirl… especially if it is a shared stick… Or more.. The sense of fully belonging when beer bottles lose their contents… Men are never more equal than before the bottle… Stories of hurt, of pain overcome and of success unlimited are swapped with reckless abandon under the inebriation the lager induces…. I suspect people would trust their smoke buddies more than their priest..and given the news continuously breaking, I wouldn’t begrudge them the lager…

The Mother's Day Conundrum..

Sun, 14 Mar 2010 07:39:30 +0000

My Mother is my mother - so in theory, I should send her a gift for Mother’s Day - that’s a given, even if its only an extra long phone call :)

What worries me though - and this is all altruistic - is where the wives, the sister who is now a mother, the aunts and the girlfriends fit. The wife, or official girlfriend is a critical case in point; they are not your mother, and they usually do not have children who are old enough to get them gifts for the day - but they do have the influence and ability to make the day horrible for one….

The formula for a perfect wife..

Sat, 06 Mar 2010 07:50:32 +0000

A bride should be five years younger than her groom, should come from the same cultural background, and be the more intelligent of the pair if couples are to have a successful marriage, scientists have announced.

Apparently the critical difference in intelligence is 27%… leading to a 20% increase in the probability of a good marriage. Perhaps eHarmony can include these critical findings in their much vaunted Compatibility algorithm. I have already included them in my spreadsheet!

Once bitten...

Fri, 05 Mar 2010 18:23:00 +0000

Once bitten you’re smitten. I underestimated just how much this space means to me. I’ll be back.

The cold March weather

Mon, 01 Mar 2010 21:14:42 +0000

The cold March weather is back, and that with a vengeance. I spoke too soon when I declared summer was here. Temperatures dipped to as low as 3 degrees centigrade today. Taking into account the high winds that accompanied the weather change, it must have felt like it was sub zero at some stage. My friend O and I practically shivered as we tried to grab lunch today. I hear snow even fell in the outskirts of town! More cold weather is forecast for the rest of the week into the weekend.. God help us o.. I’m sooo over the weather!

Cheesy smiles, Bullying, Spam and other randoms..

Fri, 26 Feb 2010 19:43:48 +0000

I suspect I am not the only one whose instinctive reation to the overly ebullient demeanour of sales people customer service assistants is to curl my fingers into a tight fist. I often want to punch them, so that the smile plastered on their face vanishes. They give me the impression of the legendary house rat - which I am told eats the skin off the feet, but aims a puff of air at the right time and place to dull the pain until it has had its fill of its victim’s feet! Thankfully, I am too lilly-livered to follow through my macabre thoughts with action - else I might be rotting in some jail on the grounds of causing grevious bodily harm.

Semper Eadem....

Thu, 25 Feb 2010 20:11:46 +0000

nothing really changes everything remains the same we are what we are till the day that we die

- Larry Norman

Two years ago Larry Norman passed…

Science Valentine..

Fri, 12 Feb 2010 22:26:50 +0000

HT: XKCD

Taking a break

Fri, 12 Feb 2010 22:07:00 +0000

In a way this blog has been great - it has forced me to focus on myself and actively strive to become better - and you the readers have been fabulous - encouraging, challenging and offering help too! I have a lot to be thankful for - I’ve come through a lot. Life has gotten so much more busy that I can’t keep up with this blog - and frankly I am running out of things to bitch about which is good. Will still be around - reading your blogs when I can steal the time!

Waiting for Bus 21...

Mon, 08 Feb 2010 19:08:07 +0000

The evening breeze, cooled by the frigid NorthSea never fails to welcome me to this place. Nonedescript, marked only by a pole and a small 4x4 plaque, it can seem like Oya or her Viking consort Njord chose to channel their chilling breath through this spot. For 40 days now, I have had to endure the icy chill the wind brings. Sometimes it can feel like the wind reaches out an icy claw and grabs the heart, as though it would yank it out and leave me for dead.

Random musings...

Sat, 06 Feb 2010 06:09:05 +0000

So John Terry lost the England football captaincy - strange to me considering the quite public exploits of Sven Goran Ericksson and Mark Pallios back in the day; the recent activities of Avram Grant and the fact that none of the names being touted as Terry replacements have covered themselves in glory in the past. He should simply have listened to the Vera show - and stayed off the friend’s ex… The bloke in the pod next to mine at work says footballers count money in millions of pounds and sense in pence.. Haterade maybe.. But this list of top ten gaffes makes an intriguing read..

Re-learning me.

Fri, 05 Feb 2010 03:58:00 +0000

I am re-learning me - finding out there is a darker side; one that is afraid, that hurts and wants to hurt in return, that wants to run and hide, close my eyes and wake up to a whole new life. I fear it is a losing battle, years of building walls, insulating myself from the world and being the black sheep will not suddenly vanish.

I am re-learning me - I don’t like what I see!

What not to do on a Monday night..

Tue, 02 Feb 2010 19:23:27 +0000

This is ‘fiction’….

What not to do on a Monday night is to boil beans….. and having boiled it, to eat it with garri and loads of milk…. and sugar….. especially when you know you are lactose intolerant!

Yours truly fell foul of the law of commonsense.. and did all the above… As expected, the turbulence hit during the day.. cue squirming, frequent strolls to let bombshells fly off with reckless abandon in the more secluded regions of the work place, plus the occasional guided missile.. a well timed, low level release. Thankfully there was no presentation today or else Naija boy for mess up big time!

Living Dangerously...

Sun, 31 Jan 2010 10:34:56 +0000

Talent is the desire to practice…..It is that you love something so much that you are willing to make an enormous sacrifice and an enormous commitment to that, whatever it is – task, game, sport, what have you.

- Malcom Gladwell

Last year I closed out a fair bit of my plans - at least I was waaay above the average 12%. This year, I decided I would only do one thing - Live Dangerously.

Randoms....

Tue, 26 Jan 2010 19:49:12 +0000

I had forgotten how to sing, Blame fear, blame pain, blame sorrow deep within;

I’ve had these two lines in my head all week. I might have read them somewhere…. Or they might be the opening lines of a poem I have to write…. the first salvo fired by my dark and weary muse….

I once thought I was doing very well in my attempt to understand women folk – clearly I was reading from the wrong manual…. Doesn’t help that this bloke has been out of action for over a year….nearly two in truth! That was some ill – advised move I tell you……

Three is the tipping point...

Sat, 23 Jan 2010 21:49:00 +0000

Three weeks in and a semblance of normalcy has descended… I know my way around town, I have my bus and rail passes in tow, and the confidence garnered from familiarity with the tasks in hand is steadily growing… The minus is its all open plan - and shirt/ ties except for Fridays, that goes totally against my grain.. I am surviving…. For that I am thankful..The way on from here is up! We’ve passed the tipping point.

Fact... Or Gimmick?

Fri, 18 Dec 2009 17:14:38 +0000

HT to The Dockers Website via The Doing Hard Things Blog..

The Last Day... Again.

Fri, 18 Dec 2009 13:24:23 +0000

Today I leave the NorthEast, hopefully for the last time in a bit. I have called this place home; lived here, eaten here, made new friends here, grabbed a degree here, cried here, and now its off to new challenges for me.

In total I’ve spent just under eighteen months here, eighteen months of near perfect freedom, aside of the back breaking swotting for exams. The people have been great too; I only had two questionable incidents - one where a clearly drunk bloke kicked an empty coke can in my direction and shouted a poor imitation of a racial slur, and the other when some kids made all sorts of noises and pointed as I walked past them in Brandling Park.

New Year unResolutions...

Tue, 15 Dec 2009 09:02:56 +0000

I found these whilst cleaning up my e-mail archives over the weekend.. Enjoy. New Year Resolutions you can keep! Are you sick of making the same resolutions year after year that you never keep? Why not promise to do something you can actually accomplish? Here are some resolutions that you can use as a starting point:

1. Gain weight. At least 30 pounds. 2. Stop exercising. Waste of time. 3. Read less. Makes you think. 4. Watch more TV. I’ve been missing some good stuff. 5. Procrastinate more. Starting tomorrow. 6. Not date any of the Baywatch cast. 7. Spend more time at work, surfing with the T1. 8. Take a vacation to someplace important: like, to see the largest ball of twine. 9. Not jump off a cliff just because everyone else did. 10. Stop bringing lunch from home: I should eat out more. 11. Not have eight children at once. 12. Get in a whole NEW rut! 13. Start being superstitious. 14. Personal goal: bring back disco. 15. Not wrestle with Jesse Ventura. 16. Buy an ‘83 Eldorado and invest in a really loud stereo system. 17. Get the windows tinted. Buy some fur for the dash. 18. Speak in a monotone voice and only use monosyllabicwords. 19 . Only wear jeans that are 2 sizes too small and use a chain or rope for a belt. 20. Spend my summer vacation in Cyberspace. 21. Not eat cloned meat. 22. Create loose ends. 23. Get more toys. 24. Get further in debt. 25. Not believe politicians. 26. Break at least one traffic law. 27. Not drive a motorized vehicle across thin ice. 28. Avoid transmission of inter-species diseases. 29 . Avoid airplanes that spontaneously drop 1000 feet. 30. Not swim with pirhanas or sharks. 31. Associate with even worse business clients. 32. Spread out priorities beyond my ability to keep track of them. 33. Wait around for opportunity. 34. Focus on the faults of others. 35. Mope about my faults. 36 . Never make New Year’s resolutions again.

Retail Therapy!

Mon, 14 Dec 2009 12:23:00 +0000

The stark reality of being totally single, in another man’s land a few days before Christmas never hits you more strongly than on a Saturday night. No work, boring TV, home alone, the inescapable cold of the winter all remind you of your lonely, boring life. There is only so much a good book, mindlessly surfing the internet, food, wine or any of the other finer treats of life can do to assuage the feeling of loneliness.

Strictly (not) dancing...

Sun, 29 Nov 2009 13:25:24 +0000

I think I have never danced in my entire life - not in church, not on my solitary foray into a night club, not at all the birthday parties I attended as a kid, not ever. I don’t remember if it was a concious decision, or if it was/still is a result of a deep seated phobia even I am unaware of, or if I have always lacked that seemingly natural ability to coordinate the limbs in resonance with external tunes, or if I just plain can’t be bothered.

Shopping..

Sun, 22 Nov 2009 23:14:00 +0000

I finally went shopping, with a few friends from around the neighbourhood. Meat, tomatoes, onions, and a stop over at the African shop for some real rice meant my long running addiction to KFC is definitely in for a serious beating! Slowly getting used to this town, I cringe at the upheaval another relocation might cause if I get the job I am currently interviewing for..

'Rethinking' Social Networks....

Sat, 14 Nov 2009 05:37:58 +0000

Perhaps, this is definitive proof that Social Networks like Facebook and Twitter can be good for you after all. First one bloke has his alibi corroborated by a Facebook timestamp (possibly saving him from up to 25 years in jail), then an attempted suicide was averted and Freddy Adu is finding life on the bench less stressful thanks to support from his peers via Twitter.

What say you? What is the most unconventional use you have put Social Networks to?

Random simple things.......

Thu, 12 Nov 2009 02:50:14 +0000

Chris Abani, speaking at TED in 2008 makes a statement I largely agree with;

The world is not saved in grand messianic gestures, but in the simple accumulation of gentle, soft, almost invisible acts of every day acts of compassion..

In the last month I,

Saw a bottle of palm wine explode: The chic was taking some palm wine to her father for a traditional wedding. She failed to consult knowledgeable others and left the bottle of palm wine corked. 67.5mm Hg of pressure (that is the saturated vapour pressure of ethanol at 20 deg C) ripped the bottle to pieces, and showered us in palm wine!
Met @medianemesis -- dude is really cool, smart.. and everything I imagined he was and more. Y’all need to follow him on Twitter and read his old blogs - fabulous!
Attended Chill and Relax. Been a long while I chilled and listened to sublimely intelligent minds speak the language of poetry. I should attend when next I am in the vicinity. Thanks to Cerberus for sending a timely reminder.
Went on a ‘date’ with my friend EC: It was her birthday, I was in town doing nothing so she dragged me along to go grab a bite and just catch up on old times. This was just old friends hanging out after a year of us both zipping around the world without actually seeing each other.
Got recruited as a husband finder, so send in the resumes for your brothers, nephews, uncles and (gulp) good ex- boy friends for consideration. The chic in question is uber smart, pwreeety, focused, - world class in short….. and she needs to sort this out in 2010 unfailingly…
Discovered I miss my campus bistro: My morning breakfast bun - the white bread + bacon + sausages + a hot cup of coffee has grown on me in the last 13 months..
Saw a rainbow - and it actually lifted my spirits. Was up since 2.30am, it was wet and windy, and then suddenly as my train came out of the tunnel just north of Edinburgh the sun broke out and the rainbow appeared - Priceless!
Thought I liked her enough to jettison the 5-year plan, then thought it was a passing fancy and then ultimately decided to fast track certain portions of the plan as opposed to whole sale changes.. Oh, and this is not one of the usual suspects……
Was reminded of the one we lost to the genes. She would have been 29 today!
Saw a different spin on love: They have been married for 55 years, she is now confined to a wheel chair, but each day, he takes her for a ‘walk’, he pushes the wheel chair and they chat as they ‘walk’. That in my mind seemed like true for better for worse.
Watched Imagine That, yes it’s kinda mushy, its cheesy, it runs against belief, but I liked it. Sue me! I need me my twin daughters already

The Christmas Blues....

Tue, 10 Nov 2009 12:54:00 +0000

Walked down Northumberland road today - had to go see the Opticians at Vision Express. Kenny’s official girlfriend’s bum broke my last pair of glasses - whether by an act of omission or one of commission I know not any more.

The entire street was lined with Christmas decorations, and manequinns waltzing to the sounds of well known carols blaring from the speakers on all the shops - Fenwick, M&S and the lot. It is a sharp reminder that its another Christmas away from family.

Mobile Phone Etiquette

Sat, 24 Oct 2009 05:22:40 +0000

Apparently a Saudi Arabian woman filed for divorce after her husband stored her name as ‘Guantanamo’ on his cell phone. Wonder what she would do if her name was stored as Oloshi Oloriburuku?

The cacophony

Sat, 10 Oct 2009 16:48:00 +0000

The worst time to be on Bus 38 has to be around about 3pm. I assume that it is around this time the young and the restless end their studies, hitting the roads to get back to Mum’s food and at which time they are keen to demonstrate their wanton indiscretions to all and sundry.

Today, they were at their bellicose worst - loud voices, popping gum and wild uncoordinated scrambles - all over the bus like worker bees suddenly disturbed from a mid-winter slumber.

Finally a friendly face..

Wed, 07 Oct 2009 16:38:00 +0000

Today Bus 38 yielded a friendly face and that after a whole three months! I had already taken my seat, again at the rear of the not so new bus, plugged into my iPod which has being the only companion worthy of note to me, and settled in- yielding to the waves of nostalgia occasioned by the tunes belted out by the artistes on my play list. She had clambered up a few stops after I had got on - clad in knee length boots, black jeans trousers and a navy blue shirt which seemed a tad bit too large for her lithe frame – pulling in her tow a large box. It seemed obvious that she was undertaking the final leg of a journey.

Random-isms......

Thu, 17 Sep 2009 11:17:58 +0000

Quite a few changes have occurred around me in the last few weeks… chief of which was moving out of my previous lodgings for a flat where a couple of blokes I have known from Nigeria are staying. All has been fine and dandy except for a few issues namely:

1. The boys can snore! Chei, sometimes it sounds like a contest. Different people all ‘hee-hawing’ simultaneously. The paper thin walls fail colossally in muffling the sounds!

A curious case of HIT and RUN?

Fri, 11 Sep 2009 09:08:04 +0000

Have a hit-and-run-less weekend!

All the D-words

Thu, 10 Sep 2009 13:30:00 +0000

Sounds like the only words I can use to describe myself now are all the lousy D-words:

Disillusioned, distraught, disappointed, disparaged…

I am just tired!

Dear Fairy God Mother

Tue, 01 Sep 2009 14:50:51 +0000

Kindly report for duty ASAP. I need my coveralls turned into an Alexander Amosu suit and my grease tainted steel-toed Redwings turned into a pair of Berluti’s. Also please place a requisition for a Bugatti Veyron. While you are at it, please stop by Santa’s and remind him I am yet to receive any responses on my requests for the 11th straight year.

Please be informed, that this is your last chance to prove you exist, else I shall have to take matters into my hands and accept that gruelling 9 to 5!

The Abstruse and The Absurd

Fri, 28 Aug 2009 18:00:39 +0000

Got forwarded a link to a video on FB (as usual) for the Diary of a Tired Blackman. A number of the themes are overstated in my opinion, but quite a number of insights on the whole. Lots of strong language, plus its quite a long one… Enjoy…

75% of Britons blog, text or surf the internet while in the loo, what do you do to pass the time in the loo?
Ever misuse quotation marks? New ideas on how to misuse them from this great blog for you.
Maybe this approach to managing our friendships will add a much needed dose of pragmatism to them.
Trying to lose weight? Try this lip gloss!
Should rules be relaxed in some instances? This bloke was initially denied a liver transplant as his condition is alcohol related.
Some fat is actually great for your long term health. Bring on the cokes mehn!
Mick Jagger of the Rolling Stones fame actually spent a year at the London School of Economics.
One football game descends into a comedy of errors. You would have thought they would respected the problems at West Ham - a player stabbed and another losing his father. Read a brilliant analysis of some of the background and potential implications of such irascible behaviour here.
Wish you won a big lottery? Think again. The winner of a humongous sum in an Italian lottery seems to have vanished into thin air for fear.

The Anatomy of a Blogsville Addiction

Sun, 16 Aug 2009 22:13:41 +0000

Peeps thanks for your best wishes per my birthday.. Pleasantly surprised by the responses..

The information provided below is provided ‘as-is’ for informational purposes only. It is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice. If in doubt, see your GP.

You know you need help fast when:

You almost sign off a cheque as your blogger ‘self’ – when money no longer forces clarity on you, wahala dey o.
The last time you ‘spoke’ to your flatmate was on Facebook - especially if the bloke is just two doors away. Not good!
Your supposedly ‘favorite’ cousin has to resort to using the ‘Contact Me’ form on your blog to reach you! - first it is a cardinal sin that your cousin reads your ‘anonymous’ blog, secondly its a major failure that you’re not constantly pacifying him/her.
You live a walking distance from a stadium that hosts Premier League football – but all you want to do is constantly refresh the BBC football page for the latest score and read blogs - it doesn’t get much worse than this.
Your 10+ year addiction, Football Manager, suddenly fails to attract your attention anymore - this seems to suggest there may be a ‘spiritual’ dimension to the whole thing. Call in the ‘Cele ’ peeps sharply mehn.
When pressed for an example in the midst of a discussion, the first stories that come to mind are from Blogs you read! - this has the added effect of potentially inducing a bizarre condition informally referred to as encephalotisitic fatigitis
The night before your big exam you still create time for blog rounds and you then get into a verbal war of words that extends late into the night – especially when you know the full ramifications of not getting an alpha on that exam! - this one requires serious beating - fan belt/ koboko everything… serious unseriousness.
You see bloggers - who you have never met any ways - in your dreams and you ‘just know’ it is them! Another reason to get the ‘Cele’ peeps on the job ASAP.
You read a post and somehow think it’s a slight on you or worse rather than engage people in the real life you vent your anger on your blog - this demonstrates bloke needs to grow up sharpish……
You start wondering which of the events in your world were blogged about by others in the past or worse you give every one around you the suspicious ’eye’ - Not everyone blogs, and if they did, it doesn’t affect you..
You wake up and the first thing on your mind is/are the post(s) you need to create. HT to SolomonSydelle for pointing out the critical omission!
You find it hard to differentiate between your real and virtual friends - HT to Favoured Girl for unearthing this one.
All your current romantic interests are people you have never even seen - we’ll need to add Papa Adeboye to the consortium organizing the prayers to resolve this one. HT to a certain anonymous for unearthing this one!
You spend time on blogger instead of working in the midst of a recession. HT to Original Mgbeke for supplying this one - when the bill paying JOB pales in significance to another activity… Kasala dey try burst be that o….

A Lost Son...

Sat, 01 Aug 2009 18:52:41 +0000

In moments like these, the stark reality hits me like a blow to the solar plexus - I am lost….caught in the neverland between two worlds - never fitting into either one. My lostness is multi-faceted; spawned by the dissonance being caught between the fervent patriotism of a son who once believed he had something big to offer his country and the hard nosed pragmatism of a thirty plus bloke who realizes - a trifle late - that finding his place in this world is more important in the near term than the anonymit y of sacrifice.

Was Moses' Wife Black?

Thu, 09 Jul 2009 17:29:00 +0000

Perhaps it is immaterial if she was black or not…. Read the interesting argument in the affirmative by JDHays here.

Hat tip to Justin Taylor’s Between Two Worlds Blog for the info.

Artificial Human Sperm?

Wed, 08 Jul 2009 07:44:00 +0000

If researchers in the North East are as successful as they are claiming, “in vitro” sperm could become yet another tool chest in the battle for babies. More here

Coffee might be great after all....

Mon, 06 Jul 2009 07:27:00 +0000

Strong coffee might be great for your mental health after all; if this research proves to be applicable to humans that is.

Via BBC News

How not to 'kill' weeds..

Fri, 03 Jul 2009 19:35:00 +0000

Perhaps some inconvenience is better than exotic solutions. This house got wrecked by an attempt to kill weeds with a flame thrower.

"Mene mene tekel parsin"

Tue, 30 Jun 2009 09:17:27 +0000

Its midway through the year already…. 2009 has sped by with alarming inerrancy…. And the midway point will soon be reached…….I find myself musing, questioning, probing and sifting through the evidence hoping to find proof that I have indeed focused on the right things so far that will make the most difference when push comes to shove and the bricks fall down as though ripped to shreds by a tsunami of cataclysmic proportions……….The big chronological milestone approaches too, and with it comes a sense of dread - I will officially become ‘old’ in my book - but then on the other hand is some gratefulness for still being alive against all odds….. …… Its taking stock time here………….I really hope the verdict is not “mene mene tekel parsin”

Nineteenth Street...

Sun, 28 Jun 2009 15:31:38 +0000

Strolling with an eager anticipation of the culinary delights sublimely created to soothe my aching throat and growling stomach, I hum a mindless tune that bears no connection whatsoever to any extant song. Somehow the steady ‘chomp chomp’ of my footsteps are the entire accompaniment I can muster to the tune that fills my head to overflowing. It has been a hard day of work; if shuffling papers, shouting at the interns, playing solitaire and facebooking count as work that is. All that is far removed from the fore of my mind though, as the gently fading sun casts long shadows on the earth behind me, whilst I walk along the street, anachronistically named the Nineteenth

Feeling Cool ...... On FaceBook!

Fri, 19 Jun 2009 14:43:17 +0000

Its been a sloooow Friday at mine.. So I spent a huge chunk of it on Facebook…. Enjoy a few of the more esoteric status updates I saw this week.

“The Law of divine BS” - Given two prospects of similar abilities, the rate of change of opportunities to perform with time is directly proportional to the amount of dust yarned and the amount of dross promised! i.e “Open eye” creates opportunities…JS (Before nko, its all about the agbari!)
Light travels faster than sound, that is why some people appear bright until you hear them speak - OO (Appearances will always open doors, it behooves the smart person to ensure the content matches the appearance)
Survivorship bias: We see the winners and “learn” from them, while forgetting the huge unseen cemetery of losers - FOI (Truly, First is everything, the rest is nothing)
You can travel across the world,meet the nicest people and enjoy the greatest moments of life in a tiny yet essential ship called friendSHIP. - RE (You can tell from the mushyness that this is feminine….Valid point though)
*Apart, we dominate; Together, we orchestrate* - DJ (Isn’t it immediately obvious that this dude is the life of the party?)
Walls are meant to shut people out, but they also shut you in - HA (This one newly marry, its allowed!)
A simple smile will do so much..don’t leave home without it - ENO (Another one of the fairly newly wedded peeps, valid point though)
One more " I will always love you" line from his black lips and I honestly will shoot someone! Tutututubararaaraaraara…. PO (Wo.. If you shoot all the people saying they luff you, who will remain?)
Why has the price of pure water stayed at N5 for over 10 years while inflation, currency rates and other costs have gone up? Any thoughts, analysis or suggestions? (FDI) (This one has an MBA from one of the top schools in Europe but is roasting behind a desk in Nigeria, this is just to demonstrate that he still has business insight!)
My prayer for you all is that there would be a transformation that would take each of you to a subspace that is invariant to exogenous perturbations. (AAA) (Surely, I do not sound like this… This one is a prospective Vibrations PhD!)

Sudden Clarity

Mon, 15 Jun 2009 12:19:00 +0000

Damn – I KNOW what the problem with my life is – discipline to do what I need to do, when I need to. My time management issues all flow from and into the discipline thing! I have very clear plans on direction, and goals - I NEED to start planning my day and acting on it ASAP, leaving procrastination behind.

The Reading List... 20 books in 20 weeks..

Fri, 12 Jun 2009 12:12:00 +0000

One of the action items from my Thinking Time was a reading list. Full list is here..

On self-delusion...

Tue, 09 Jun 2009 16:18:42 +0000

Perhaps the thin line between self-delusion and dreaming big is crossed where tomorrow’s gains are sacrificed on the altar of yesterday’s illusions.

Of Doctors, Lawyers and Keeping my sanity...

Fri, 22 May 2009 11:49:16 +0000

Edit – Just so you know, I have nothing against Lawyers and Doctors… Its just that they make me want to tear my hair out sometimes…. Its nothing personal.. LOL

Quite frankly if it were possible to be ‘cursed’ with doctors and Lawyers – I think I would have that curse….

My mum is a closet doctor - maybe the disappointment of missing out on medical school made her over compensate - but all my young life I was innudated by quasi-medical books - Look Younger, Live Longer, Where there is no Doctor, Every Woman, and a slew of health books by the Seventh Day Adventists; plus all the newspaper cuttings – how smiling adds a year to your life, hyper vitaminosis, drink your way to health and all that ish..

Sometimes I wonder..................

Tue, 19 May 2009 22:52:56 +0000

Sometimes I wonder what the difference is between……………

Self-delusion and Dreaming Big
Hypocrisy and the Gap Trap
Narcissism and Self Esteem
Love and Admiration
Pragmatism and Foolhardiness

“If I know the way home and am walking along it drunkenly, is it any less the right way because I am staggering from side to side?

- Leo Tolstoy

Don't worry Now..... Brit Nicole..

Mon, 18 May 2009 01:01:45 +0000

Had this song on repeat for the past couple of days.. Another reason for dudes to consider the wider ramifications of their actions before jumping in the marriage bag!

For all who had absentee fathers – enjoy this! [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FIU_rfoW77U]

Lyrics HERE. The story behind the song HERE

Life is Hard Work

Thu, 14 May 2009 12:06:00 +0000

Quite frankly life is hard work - plans and programs are all well and good… It is in the dirty places, the grime infested workplaces that real change occurs. Rubber hitting the road, people knuckling down and acting on the decisions, plans and thoughts that they have created.

Think - Plan - But then I need to ensure I am Doing stuff!

On..... Sustainable Development

Thu, 14 May 2009 00:07:27 +0000

Humanity has the ability to make development sustainable – to ensure that it meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.

From Our Common Future(The Brundtland Report)

P.S: This does relate to what I’m reading at the moment…

8 days and then.....

Mon, 11 May 2009 08:13:50 +0000

Sorry peeps – Had my hands so full that I barely had the time to read blogs or even comment.. Thanks y’all for the love you continue to show…

So I’ve got 8 days to the big kick off.. The final exams that would go a long way to determine how successful my high stakes gamble to head back to school was.. Spent the better part of last week studying intensely, and I sense I’m slowly getting into the ZONE.. That place where all that’s left is a cold appreciation of the task ahead and quiet optimism that you’ve given it your best shot!

On the drudgery of study....

Tue, 05 May 2009 15:44:15 +0000

Totally unintelligible post alert!

Mehn… I tire for this book marra o…. Oyinbo sef talk say ‘all work and no play go turn persin to jackie’… Na im make me come try yarn some small okpata; make e no come be like say I dey turn kolo……Shey una grab? No min’ me o.. I just dey try clear my o gor, make small space for correct book fit still dey… Aftera.. I no thief persin certificate o.. Dem no dey die put jare!

On the inherent inefficiencies in eating pounded yam!

Sun, 26 Apr 2009 07:19:53 +0000

I absolutely adore African food - I made it a point of duty to eat everything from amala, eba, party jollof rice, beans, moi-moi, yam porridge, nkwobi, and that peculiar Cally town culinary delight of Ekpangnkukwo as well as a sampling of soups - ogbono, egusi, afang, editan, afia efere (hmmmm), and even gala and several FanMilk icecreams flavours all in the space of 12 days. In fact, the ability to make piping hot akara is a key requirement of the future Mrs DB!

Absurd? Or maybe its 'Just Fine'....

Fri, 24 Apr 2009 12:26:00 +0000

Found this news story on the daily telegraph… Apparently in the relatively quiet backwaters of Sunderland, a certain Mr and Mrs Cartwright could potentially face jail term over violation of an anti-social behavior order.. The crime? Noise making of a curious kind! If only I could get them to sort out the French flatmate I have who persists in bothering my celibate ears every two weeks, that would be just fine!!!!

Live in Las Gidi

Thu, 09 Apr 2009 00:19:38 +0000

well……. db is live in las gidi after much! thankfully the peeps @ mtn reactivated my contract, so i’m good to roll…albeit intermittently via a USB connection between my lappie and my phone! now i need to locate ‘mama put’ for some piping hot amala and ewedu soup…

keep those questions for the 29th rolling in..looking very interesting already…..

cheers peeps!

A Final lyrical response to... 'The scathing sonnet'

Mon, 06 Apr 2009 17:37:00 +0000

Minerva in all her dainty, god-like, grandeur failed to walk,
On the slippery inclines you choose to run.
Buxom Efik Princesses turned tail and baulked,
But you bashfully refuse away to turn.

Like Polaris oblivious to the lure of southern skies,
Unfazed by the heady fumes that rise so high,
I refrain in spite of many tries,
From Cupid’s fiery barbs which doth truly fly.

Shall you, o little lady, proceed?
Where others of ilk more intense have floundered?
Shall your sultry charms succeed?
Where others of great skill have turned and surrendered?

Off to Nigeria........... A Mini Hiatus...

Fri, 03 Apr 2009 18:33:52 +0000

Hey peeps…

I’ve got a number of key projects to deliver in April - off to Nigeria for a number of weddings, and massive book work issues to resolve. I’ll thus be off on a mini-hiatus for a large portion of April, aside of two key posts; a review of Shane Hipps book Flickering Pixels: How Technology Shapes Your Faith sometime next week, as well as my Blogference for the 29th. As I cannot confirm that I will have access to the internet, I may not be able to do blog rounds or respond to your comments within the period. If you can lay your hands on the Shane Hipps book, do give it a read. I expect it will make for a stimulating discussion.Do keep the questions flowing in, and have a great month!

On 'Normative Determinism'........and rebranding Nigeria!

Wed, 01 Apr 2009 00:55:10 +0000

I was talking to a couple of elderly peeps back in 9ja a few weeks ago and the case of a son who seems to be intent on self-destruction came up. The father opined that the chaps name might be part of the problem - his name is Ojo (I understand its given to a child whose birth was particularly difficult) and his moniker was Ojo-Jogbon (which seems to carry a connotation of a trouble maker). I decided, just for the fun of it to see what research had been carried out on the subject, and was shocked to discover a whole body of knowledge exists on it - aptly called normative determinism. Ochuko blogged about his name and its meaning, as did justdoyin’s post where a Noel Gist was talking about rumours!

3 years on.. The Journey...

Mon, 30 Mar 2009 17:53:10 +0000

Today marks the 3rd anniversary of my first ever blog post. What started off as an anger induced journey on my old blog-city blog(which was deleted when blog-city stopped being free)in 2006 has since evolved into a more serene take on life and the attendant twists and turns it brings to the random thoughts of a weird 9ja dude. To celebrate, I’ve decided upon due consultation, to hold a Blogference - a la Vera, where I get to answer any questions you care to ask. Whilst I cannot guarantee an answer to any and every question, I will do my best to provide an answer within the confines of two conditions - that the answers do not compromise my already tenuous grip on anonymity nor will they require me to compromise any other person’s anonymity. I expect to be able to do a post on the 29th of April (when my first extant blogger post was posted) to answer them. Questions may be asked via comments to this post or by email to raz9ijaboi@yahoo.co.uk .

The Fear of Google......

Wed, 18 Mar 2009 17:34:15 +0000

If the internet made information globally available, Google made it accessible…A few weeks back, someone ‘googled’ my real name and could have been able to piece together a considerable amount of my history – stuff like my secondary school and the year I left, my University, my father’s name and some of the work he’s done, my work history, comments I’d made on some blogs in my real name and some stuff I was rightly ashamed to be associated with - like the mug shot i uploaded to the Liverpool website’s worldwide fan database!

Newton's First Law of (e)Motion

Fri, 06 Mar 2009 00:07:00 +0000

“Corpus omne perseverare in statu suo quiescendi vel movendi uniformiter in directum, nisi quatenus a viribus impressis cogitur statum illum mutare.” _
_
I was involved in a little discussion on my FB wall with a friend of mine on Newton’s Laws of Motion when I inadvertedly typed “straight lin emotion” instead of “straight line motion”… Our discussion quickly switched to how the three laws were largely symptomatic of human behavior. After several back and forths, we finally agreed on this interpretation…

Thanks........ and the list guy's 15 items!

Tue, 03 Mar 2009 23:29:00 +0000

Blogsville peeps – Thanks for all the kind words of advice and unique insights you served up whilst I was trying to come to terms with my Journey of Rediscovery!

A big cup of coffee is currently keeping me awake, so I decided to head off to Boundless.org to see what they had to serve up and found this cool article which tried to list some of the different things between guys and girls..

And so the elusive 19th runs away..... Yet again!!!!

Mon, 23 Feb 2009 06:52:00 +0000

Guess its finally over now…. Liverpool’s bid for the elusive 19th title has finally imploded, left limping by a collection of draws at home against the stoke citys, fulhams, Hull Citys and co this season, the final blow to severe the jugular seems to have been struck yesterday.. And for good measure, it had to come from an ex-Liverpool player from the Blue half of Manchester……

That leaves the Champions League to look towards – and with the kind of form Barca were in until this weekend, a Real Madrid finally getting into their stride and a host of other decent teams still in with a shout, it could be another long trek back home without any silverware. This summer the Yanks, Rafa, Parry and everyone at this football club needs to take a long hard look at how the season turned out. In a season that was ours for the taking, we imploded in January and handed the initiative to the Mancs….

Game Theory.. And the age old question of the comode seat...

Tue, 17 Feb 2009 18:58:00 +0000

Nefertiti’s Journal of an angry woman post a few weeks back raised the issue of comode seats and the age old flashpoint of dudes who do not lower it after use……. It reminded me of something I’d seen on the internet a whiles back, where an Indian Economist, Hammad Siddiqi, took Game Theory, and applied it to this problem…..

His conclusions? For dudes, leaving the seat down is an “inefficient operation” which provides the justification for them not wanting to do it, even if it takes a nano-second of their lives. For girls, its a “trembling hand perfect equilibrium”… ie they may assume that it will happen, but in reality it has a low probability of occurence……

A different take on the "Stimulus Bill"

Tue, 10 Feb 2009 21:36:00 +0000

Found this interesting review of the Stimulus Bill on www.Boundlessline.org… While I will not pretend to know enough about economics to join issues with the American Plan to pump about $1.2 trillion into the US economy to stimulate growth, a few of the items on the shopping list seem downright absurd to me.. A $246 million tax break for Hollywood movie producers, $650 million for the digital television converter box coupon program, $448 million for constructing the Department of Homeland Security headquarters, $248 million for furniture at the new Homeland Security headquarters, $150 million for Smithsonian museum facilities, $6 billion to turn federal buildings into “green” buildings, $75 million to construct a “security training” facility for State Department Security officers when they can be trained at existing facilities of other agencies, $110 million to the Farm Service Agency to upgrade computer systems and $200 million in funding for the lease of alternative energy vehicles for use on military installations sounds like a political scam of “Nigerianesque” proportions… But then maybe our Naija politicians are understudying the American model in the first place…. Join the debate here and read the full text here

An abandoned Bugatti.......and an Innovative Solution to the Credit Crunch...

Sun, 08 Feb 2009 01:09:00 +0000

An abandoned Bugatti has just been sold for £3million pounnds in the UK.. In the midst of the credit crunch somebori was able to cough out that amount of money… Hmmmm… All you peeps whose parents still have a 1986 Volkswagen Bettle, or a vintage 1975 Peugeout 404 saloon car, hold on to it.. Maybe in the year 2100, your great grand children could rake in a few million quid….. That is if global warming doesn’t wipe the planet by then…… More on that story here

Name dropping........ By T-Bone and Eric Dawkins...

Sun, 01 Feb 2009 21:10:00 +0000

Have been listening to a bit of rap music in the past few weeks – decided to explore some other music genres for a change - instead of the rock-esque stuff I’ve largely listened to in the past… Stumbled on this song by T-bone and Eric Dawkins… While the beats are OK, what caught my attention was how he incorporated the names of a number of other Christian peeps into the body of the rap. The words in full CAPS are the names of contemporary christian musicians….. Enjoy…

When death calls...

Sun, 01 Feb 2009 21:03:47 +0000

They say the Lord giveth, the Lord taketh… Heard some really heart wrenching news today after signing on to Yahoo Messenger on a whim. An old friend of mine is no more - dead.. The worst part is that she’d been dead for over a year, and I only got to know today.

On Liverpool and a contentious Super Bowl Ad.......

Sat, 31 Jan 2009 09:30:00 +0000

Can’t seem to understand how the wheels have come off the Liverpool challenge for the Premiership this season… At some stage we looked like we were going to pull away and then Rafa “Tinkerman” Benitez ran his mouth too far and its all gone bonkers since then.. Disappointing draws against Everton and Stoke in games we should have finished off and then a deeply disappointing penalty given away by that crappy dude Lucas have contrived to very clearly hand the initiative to the Manure yet again.. Considering that if the Mancs win, they will equal our prestigiuos 18 championships, it beggars belief as to how the events have turned out…. If it was in Nigeria, and robbers could turn to goats to escape detection, I would have averred that Sir Alex Fungusen had visited the Okija shrine, and obtained a potion for orchestrating the demise… Be that as it may 11 clean sheets takes some beating, and as my worst fears from earlier on in the season have all but been confirmed…….

Finally, the reason why women cheat.... LOL

Sat, 24 Jan 2009 07:41:00 +0000

Found this story on Yahoo via an RSS feed….Its supposed to be some ground breaking research on why women cheat – apparently there’s a conection between a certain hormone and the likelihood of women getting hit on by men….. Have a great read…

"52 weeks to find him" and an old beauty soap commercial....

Sun, 04 Jan 2009 08:16:00 +0000

Stumbled on this interesting “experiment” by Neenah Pickett. She’s taken the initiative to set up a personal website for dudes to come find her. Let’s see how it shapes up, hopefully it should open some not-normally-open doors.. Pray some of our sharp “Yahoo Yahoo” boys don’t spin her a smooth love story and bail with some of her money.. Or use her to gain a chance to sneak into America…

Can’t seem to remember how i managed to get into a discussion of soap commercials yesterday. Apparently, my flatmate had been talking with someone in Nigeria and they’d talked about the old Joy beauty soap advert where the Joy girl has a bath and takes a walk - making briefcases pop open, people overfil their glasses, doors slam shut on people’s hands - general mayhem i think…… Heard some Nigerian comedian has done a joke about being around such a girl.. If anyone has a link to a video I’d like to see it please… Have a great week y’all.. and hope the new year resoultions/ goals/ plans are making sense?….

The 2009 Master Plan...

Thu, 01 Jan 2009 12:24:00 +0000

2008…What a year…Seems like it was only yesterday when my friend and I drove to church to attend the New year Service and to get the year rolling……Lots of stuff have happened to and around me.. Wonder what the highlights were tho…

On a personal note heading back to school ranks up there… One humid March evening, I finally decided I’d had enough of working on the edge; after spending the 4th straight weekend at work trying to troubleshoot a pipeline problem…. Got home that night,and started the online application that has landed me on the MSc program I’m currently on…..apparently to the distaste of my bosses - who told me they thought I was doing fine without the MSc and that it was unnecessary….Who cares? I needed to keep my sanity……My cause can’t be helped by the fact that a number of chaps also decided to flee in my wake too… duh…

New Year, New start, New Life...

Thu, 01 Jan 2009 00:41:36 +0000

I think I am lost…. Caught in the never land between here and there, and never quite fitting into either. The last eighteen months have been intense - filled with activities which have changed me. Some came close to breaking me - like losing my Nigerian job, like enduring that nasty breakup, like feeling like the world caved in all at once… I like to imagine I survived, and am slowly picking the pieces of my life back up and together again.

'27 dresses', Peanut Butter and a somewhat Merry Christmas....

Fri, 26 Dec 2008 21:02:00 +0000

Thanks to y’all who wished me a Merry Christmas. In view of the fact that I was stuck in Europe, that was the best I could have hoped for. Unfortunately there was no “White Christmas” where I was —so my plan to take some pictures with snow to finally convince the “Doubting Thomases” that I was indeed somewhere in Europe failed to materialize….

Found out that I have this unquenchable “lust” for peanut butter… Yours truly ate it with everything over the Christmas - bread, rich tea biscuits, mixed with pasta.. I would be embarassed to even mention some of the things I did with it….Hopefully I’ll not add more than a few kilograms, and my regular brisk walks will burn it all off…. lol…

Ruminating......

Mon, 22 Dec 2008 08:50:00 +0000

WOW.. Went to church yesterday and was wowed by the Christmas story presentation put up… Everything from the kids singing “silent night” to the the main choir singing an up-beat rocky version of “Joy to the World” brought back memories from long ago…..

Liverpool almost gave me the perfect Christmas gift.. but yet again they failed to kill off a game that was there for the taking… Even I, the most die-hard of pragmatic fans - have begun to have real serious doubts about their desire to win the elusive 19th this year.. Have a real fear deep down that we’ll not get a better chance than this year.. with all the “Big Four” bleeding points like snow on a white Christmas….

Random Thoughts....

Tue, 16 Dec 2008 03:33:00 +0000

Wonder what I need to do to get married to a very rich diva… Boy if i can make 50 million pounds from 9yrs, I’d be made for life.. That definitely will banish all thoughts of a credit crunch to the doldrums “like a bad night’s dream forever”.. Wonder why all these celebs hook up in the first place, if is only to part with loads of cash (maybe its not so hard-earned anyways or it really doesn’t hurt them lose the money). Maybe they do not believe in the love they sing about in their songs too….

The freedom of anonymity.....and other random tots...

Sun, 07 Dec 2008 19:09:00 +0000

Spent a couple of minutes speaking with one of my friends.. and suddenly realized how “easy” the internet has made communication….This dude is that half-shy - half-reserved type who can barely keep a conversation going, but is absoutely fabulous on MSN or Facebook.. This dude manages to pull off witty comments that i’ve never heard from him in real life…. I began to wonder if maybe communicating in real time involves so many nuances that most people just wilt rather than communicate effectively…. Make no mistake, this guy is good - he finished in the top two in my class back in 9ja while yours truly finished in the never land of mid-table obscurity (as the football pundits so aptly put it) but the guy never was a talker….

On Anonymity, Make Believe and other random musings...

Sat, 29 Nov 2008 23:45:00 +0000

Just felt i needed to get this off my chest……..

Last week marked the third month of my latest episode in the ongoing saga of “DB goes to school”. I’d been away from my books for about 6 yrs – served the nation for one year and worked 5 - but then a number of work related events made me ask myself the hard questions… On the surface I had a great life - an OK job, loads of wonderful friends, and I was racking up experience in an area of engineering i loved…. But somehow, one morning in March – after yet another emergency at the plant had made me come to work on a sunday and leave by past 9pm – I decided I’d had enough and I applied to a school for an MSc placement…. Got a letter of admission a couple of weeks later, and thus started my journey back to books…..

Exam Fever....

Sun, 23 Nov 2008 17:16:00 +0000

Got a rude shock a couple of days ago… My Degree Program Administrator circulated an email to all of us chaps on the provisional examination timetables.. Exams start off in just over a month and this dude has been chilling instead of reading since… Told my friend that I was having problems motivating myself to read.. His advice? Print out all my fee receipts and my pay slips from 9ja and put them on my white board… His reasoning is that if i keep looking at how much I’ve paid and how much I will not earn this year, I will sit up and read..Great advice anyways..

On WHINEger, Manure, Chelski, Rafa TINKERman and a weekend of Premiership Football..

Sun, 09 Nov 2008 22:05:00 +0000

First off an apology – Was tied up with my books (U know old men and books need time to gell together o)..

Looks like some sort of normal service has been restored to the EPL…Prof “WHINEger” getting a response from his boys against the Manure, Anelka shaking off his characteristic lethargy to score twice and send Chelski top of the table again and Robbie Keane getting “the monkey off his back” as Rafa Tinkerman so succintly put it..

Saturday Evening Blues...

Sun, 02 Nov 2008 10:05:00 +0000

Felt really bad last night… Guess the initiating event was Liverpool’s cruel defeat to Tootenham Hotspur after bossing the game for 60ish minutes and scoring as early as the 3rd minute… and the flurry of text messages I got form all over the globe (seriously).. Chaps from Nigeria, the US, the UK and even one from Australia all bombarded my phone with messages on how Liverpool have once again flattered to deceive and all what not….

Me.. and my Facebook

Thu, 30 Oct 2008 23:14:00 +0000

I did the unthinkable today and deleted my Facebook account… Not sure what finally pushed me over the edge but I sure knew it was coming… Possibly it was the three hours wasted after my lectures today responding to comments on my pictures and trawling the profiles of my friends looking for comments to add, or maybe it was the heated exchange I had with some chap over Obama and McCain and how relevant it was to the rest of the world (especially Nigeria) who it was that won… Quite possibly, it was exacerbated by the friendly jibe my best friend’s kid sister threw in my direction - a candid warning to her big sis not to get addicted to FB like yours truly… Or maybe it was the ease with which it is possible to breach the walls of anonymity and become “friends” with someone you’ve never known from the start of evolution - much less from Adam’s time.. Or maybe it was the threat of potential employers snooping around on FB for mug shots of prospective employees…..

Loving Liverpool FC

Thu, 30 Oct 2008 02:10:00 +0000

Hmm – still awake – time’s 2.12am here but a big cup of coffee is striving to keep me very much awake.. Had an assignment i needed to complete for some lecturer who does his utmost best to come across as recticent all the time and i felt a cup of coffee would help….

Was delighted that my Liverpool team got the win against Portsmouth.. They’d huffed and puffed for 70+ minutes before a moment of madness gited them the winning penalty - Trust Stevie G to respond with a well driven penalty beyond the despairing dive to Calamity James… Hmmm so wat else is happening to me at the moment?

The elusive 19th?

Mon, 27 Oct 2008 08:06:00 +0000

Hmmm – still rubbinng my hands in glee over the most assured Liverpool perfromance at the Bridge since January 2004; calm, disciplined and “arsenalesque” at times with the approach play… Liverpool were good value for the win and much as I’m shied away from saying this is the year of the 19th, i’m slowly building a head of enthusiasim again.. For us all the long suffering Anfield faithful, we pray fervently that The Rotator doesn’t blow it this time and that he keeps the same nucleus that has gelled so well this season.. IMO, Jnaury should bring in a genuine winger who can play on either side and a full back (Fabio, Dossena, Arbeloa) have done OK; not done great as I see it)….

Four Weeks gone..

Sun, 26 Oct 2008 08:01:00 +0000

WOW.. Four weeks have gone by like yesterday.. Four weeks of lectures on Tyneside… Plus nearly two reams of reading materials covering everything from linear wave theory to fracture mechanics.. Meeen this book work ehnn.. Thank God say I even go now, like say I don marry get picki e for rough o…

Anyways I’m grteful for the opportunity to study again and give myself loads of options at the end (ppeline engineering no be yam o!!!)..

Just Chilling - bracing up for week 3!

Sat, 11 Oct 2008 21:16:00 +0000

WOW… finally got through the second full week of lectures on Tyneside.. Calling them hectic wold be a disservcie to the sheer number and length of lectures i’ve had to go through - capped off by a dose of 7 hrs with Prof Phil Hopkins. Anyways i’d say i’m slowly geting back into the groove - except for one kind economics course like dat wey dey make boys sleep well well…

21 days on Tyneside!

Mon, 06 Oct 2008 03:25:00 +0000

WOW.. yesterday made it the 21st consecutive day on Tyneside for moi….I’m grateful for the chance to be away from the frenetic pace of work for a year, but at some stage i’d almost started second guessing my decision to go for an Msc..

All in all the pressure’s slacked off - completed registration, settled in seamlessly, starting to know my way around now and have meet some really cool guys on Tyneside..

The 'Rejected Stone'?

Sun, 24 Aug 2008 04:52:00 +0000

I wonder how many LFC fans are taking note of the fact that Xabi Alonso has had a big hand in conjuring up the best ever start to a Premier League campaign under Rafa the rotator? Big response from a world class player IMO.. The mere fact that Rafa was willing to pay 18M pounds for a replacement player along with all the constant noise about a move to Juve and then the Ar$e$ seemed to suggest that his Anfield time was up but the impact he’s had amidst average performances from people around him begs the question as to why he was on the way out…Granted last season he was a shadow of himself, and he chose to witness the birth of his kid rather than travel (commendable IMO) but he’s shown his quality in past seasons..

Newcastle.....The waiting game

Sat, 23 Aug 2008 08:17:00 +0000

Crossed the 97% mark this week… Got my ticket to Newcastle via London Heathrow yesterday so as it stands I’m almost good to go.. Still yet to hear anything back from HR yet on how much I owe.. I expect I have it covered tho'

Thot I’d be able to avoid having a sit-out for my chaps – but I’ve been sternly warned that such a course of action will be unacceptable.. Guess I always knew I had no choice on this one..

The Newcastle Agenda

Sun, 10 Aug 2008 21:28:00 +0000

WOW – The Newcastle agenda crossed the 95% milestone last Friday.. Weeks of nail-biting suspense came to an end.. and when it did it was anti-climatic.. The weeks of palpating excel spreadsheets and evaluating various scenarios came to an end more in a puff of smoke than a roaring volcanic eruption..

I’d skipped work, chartered a cab to Calabar and only arrived just in time to catch the last Arik Air flight to Lagos from Calabar… Flight was eventful, rather bumpy but safe… And then when the brown envelope was in my hands, i only felt a cold, calm detachment..

Diary of a would-be school boy

Tue, 05 Aug 2008 20:31:00 +0000

Finally worked up the nerve to start blogging about my prospective Newcastle odyssey…. By my excel spreadsheet estimates I’ve crossed the 78% milestone, paid my fees, booked my accomodation, self registered for school, moved my pounds into my dorm account - the works..

Currently waiting on the chaps from the High Commission to make a statement on my application to finally cross the 90% milestone..

As for me all I’m doing is twiddling my thumbs and waiting for the manifestation of the day.,,

Missing in Action

Fri, 28 Sep 2007 14:44:00 +0000

WOW – Been almost a whole long month that I’ve ben away from blogsville – Granted i was never the consumate blogger but i did manage to pop in from time to time to see what was grooving around blogsville.. But this last run was awful - first my ISP was struck by lightning inone of those freak tropical thunderstorms and their equipment got fried.. Then its taken the better part of threee weeks to attempt a fix - Awful - even by Nigerian Private Sector standards.. Only NEPA/ PHCN is more abysmal…

The real 'Special One'

Tue, 01 May 2007 21:35:00 +0000

Sincere condolences to Chelsea and their “born again” fans - people who in the vast majority have been converted by a certain Russian’s billions.

Once again on the European stage Benitez has proved to be the master of Mourinho over two legs. Granted Liverpool never looked like scoring at Stamford Bridge (aside of the sublime moment of magic from Steven Gerrad) but Chelsea were also at best lethargic at Anfield.

First-Off

Sun, 29 Apr 2007 01:49:00 +0000

I’m the guy next door; the one who merges seamlessly into the flurry of life in a mega city… Nothing spectacular, middle class, fairly well paid (at least well off enough to eat and drink and do whatever i want to do including vacation in the US, South Africa, Australia or wherever the next big thing is……)

I’m in my mid to late 20’s, single – make that very single – don’t know anymore if it was more a decision or I’ve just found myself single till now… Neither drink nor smoke (not blaming those who do), kind of shy (or reserved if you’re the type who calls a spade a digging implement) and above all anonymous, lost in the bowels of a mega city.